GVMC gets an electric bus to Visakhapatnam for trial run

In an attempt to assess the pros and cons involved in running electric buses in the Visakhapatnam transport system, GVMC has brought an electric bus to the city on Thursday. The electric bus, registered under the Telangana Transport Department, was brought to the city for a trial run.

During the trial run, GVMC will be trying to check whether the e-bus will be suitable for the city’s traffic. Reportedly, it will also be gathering information on various aspects including the charging hours, range observed per day, the number of beak downs, and the ambient temperature inside the bus among others.

The Greater Visakhapatnam Smart City Corporation Limited (GVSCCL) sought the approval of the State Government before bringing the e-bus to the city.

The trail run also comes before bringing in more electric buses to operate them in the BRTS (bus rapid transit system) corridor. According to the information provided by Vinay Kumar (Project Supervising Engineer) to Eenadu, the officials will be inviting tenders for purchasing the electric buses after the successful completion of this trial run.

It may be noted that earlier, the Andhra Pradesh Eastern Power Distribution Company Limited (APEPDCL) flagged off the first batch of electric cars in Vizag. The electric cars were supplied by the Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EES) on a monthly rental basis.