Mumbai: New BEST buses will get charged every time driver hits the brakes

Pretty sure you didn't think any good could ever come out of bumper-to-bumper traffic. While it is indeed a pain, that very thing is what will help the new electric, zero-emission buses, inducted in the BEST's fleet on Wednesday.

The new electric, zero-emission buses inducted in BEST's fleet

Their superpower is that every time the driver applies brakes, it will generate power that will go down to the power reservoirs of the vehicle, thereby charging it. The buses, after being charged for three to four hours, can run 250 to 300 km. The buses have the regenerative energy restoration technology, which will use kinetic energy to recharge the batteries.

"Four of the total six electric buses, which are non-AC, have arrived; they have been parked at the Backbay Depot in South Mumbai. The buses will be based there, and the depot has been equipped with charging points. Every time a bus comes back to the point, it will be charged," BEST's public relations officer Hanumant Gophane told mid-day.

"We have not yet fixed a date for the launch, but what's decided for certain is that they will only run in South Mumbai." The gearless, eco-friendly buses, with a capacity of 35 seats and low floors, have been bought at a cost of Rs 10 crore and will run on lithium-ion batteries. "This is the best idea ever! A perfect fit for Mumbai's traffic. Other vehicles waste energy in traffic jams, but these buses will actually generate it," said Harshad Joshi, a regular commuter.

Back to paper
The BEST seems to be losing its fight on the automated ticket machines with conductors and has started going back to the old paper-punch ticket system. Committee members in a BEST meeting yesterday said that almost 50 per cent of the 9,500 electronic ticket machines were under repairs and conductors had to queue up at depots to get these machines every morning.

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Total number of the new buses expected

300 km
Distance the buses can run after being charged for 3-4 hours