Chandigarh Administration wants to make the city clean, green and also want to check on the increasing pollution that is raising due to the increasing number of the vehicles. Under smart city project they have decided to include the electric buses in Chandigarh and for this, they also introduced an electric bus to the city’s road for trial bases.

The Chandigarh Pollution Control Committee (CPCC) has recorded 100 micrograms per cubic metre (mcgcu m) of repairable suspended particulate matter (RSPM), which was higher than permissible limit of 60 micrograms per cubic metre.  But this project of Chandigarh Transport Undertaking (CTU) has hit a roadblock.

Negatives Of The Chandigarh Electric Bus:

After this trial, the 11-member inspection committee has noted some shortcomings in the electrical bus that was on the road for two-week long trial. After making the report of all the shortcomings officials of CTU on Wednesday in a meeting with the representatives of the manufacturer asked them to remove the defects. Some Problems with the electric bus are:

• The report said that this bus was unable to run for one shift of seven hours.
• An ordinary bus can cover a distance between 230km to 250km in a single shift but this electric bus covered only 180 km a day on single charge, carrying 1,750 kg.
• The bus encountered the problem of manoeuvring on turns and this is because of the battery is fitted on the roof.
• The battery also faced difficulties in charging.
• Fluctuation in voltage makes it unable to charge.
• The report also pointed out poor quality of suspension.The bus lacked air suspension.
• The high initial cost of the bus is also a negative aspect. The bus will cost around Rs 2 crore, while an ordinary bus of a similar size is available for around Rs 30 lakh.

Positives Of The Bus:

There are also some positives that are included in the reports and that is the Zero emission and a running cost is Rs 5 for each km. The CTU’s main objective to go for electric buses is to reduce pollution. The administration has handed over the shortcomings to the manufacturer and asked them to remove all of them and after that, there will be another trial to check it.