Frequent breakdowns, fatal crashes | E-buses giving Bengaluru 'a bad name', says minister Ramalinga Reddy

Transport minister seeks Centre's urgent intervention over poor performance of electric vehicles

Bengaluru: Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy on Monday sought the Centre's immediate intervention over the "poor performance" of electric buses leased by the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC). 

Addressing a press conference, he said the 1,644 e-buses in the corporation's fleet were facing multiple issues and giving it a "bad name". 

He cited frequent technical failures, battery-related breakdowns, increasing accidents, poor maintenance, inadequate driver training, shortage of buses and drivers and repeated driver strikes. 

To cut costs, he said, operators were appointing only 1.9 to 2.0 staff per bus instead of the prescribed 2.3. Since 2023–24, e-buses have been involved in 70 accidents, including 24 fatal ones. 

"These buses carry BMTC branding but the corporation doesn't own them. These deficiencies have severely affected the smooth operation of e-buses and tarnished Bengaluru's reputation," Reddy said. 

The BMTC has 7,067 buses, including 1,644 electric vehicles leased from four companies under the Gross Cost Contract (GCC) model. Operators are paid per kilometre, and appoint drivers while the BMTC provides conductors. 

Under central schemes such as FAME II, CESL, Smart Cities Mission and the Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment, four operators have supplied e-buses to the BMTC for 12 years: 

NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Ltd–JBM: 90 buses (992 breakdowns since 2023-24; Rs 9.8 crore penalty)

Switch Mobility Automotive Ltd: 300 buses (11,419 breakdowns; Rs 3.05 crore penalty)

TML Smart City Mobility Solutions Ltd: 1,031 buses (3,112 breakdowns; Rs 11.99 crore penalty)

OHM Global, which has supplied AC e-buses for airport and other premium routes, has reported 608 breakdowns since 2024-25, attracting a penalty of Rs 67 lakh. 

Repeated strikes by e-bus drivers forced the BMTC to cancel thousands of scheduled trips, causing a revenue loss of Rs 92.89 lakh since January 2023. This month alone, TML drivers struck work thrice, OHM Global drivers twice and Switch Mobility drivers once, all due to pay disputes, according to Reddy. 

Despite large-scale operations, the BMTC's 5,423 diesel buses recorded only 0.05 accidents per lakh km, compared with 0.07 for e-buses. Since 2023–24, there have been only 122 breakdowns of diesel buses and just 2% trip cancellations. 

"Accidents and fatal incidents are notably higher among e-buses due to driver negligence and lack of accountability," Reddy said. 

The minister clarified that he was not asking for cancelling contracts but only seeking a thorough evaluation of all GCC operators. 

With the BMTC set to lease 4,500 more e-buses under the PM E-DRIVE scheme, he said future tenders must have strict binding clauses mandating GCC operators to train drivers before commencing operations. He also sought a joint compliance monitoring mechanism between State Transport Undertakings and the ministry concerned. 

BMTC Managing Director Sivakumar KB said he had held separate meetings with all bus manufactureres to dicuss operational challenges due to the breakdowns. They assured him to upgrade the charging infrastructure. 

"We're adjusting penalties against payments and recovering revenue lost from cancellations," he added.