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Finally, after a long wait, Mumbai gets the first air-conditioned electric double-decker bus. With this, Mumbai also becomes the first city in the country to get this type of bus inducted into the fleet of buses used for public transportation by BEST. According to reports, BEST will include 20 more such buses called EiV22 in its fleet by the end of March this year. BEST has leased buses from Switch Mobility, an initiative introduced by the Electric Commercial Vehicle segment of Ashok Leyland. The first unit of this bus was unveiled by the Union Miniter of Transport, Nitin Gadkari in Mumbai on August 17, 2023.

 

 

After the accomplishment of registration formalities at the Regional Transport Offices, BEST will operate these buses in suburban areas to cater to the transport needs of the locals. With this, the conventional diesel-powered double-decker buses will not be seen more on Mumbai roads. According to Lokesh Chandra, General Manager at BEST, in the next couple of days, five more same buses will be inducted into the fleet. It is reported that by the end of this year, there will be around 200 electric double-decker buses running in different areas of Mumbai.

 

Speaking about the features and power of EiV22, it is equipped with an advanced Lithium-ion NMC battery with a capacity of 231 kWh. The battery takes almost three hours to charge the full battery. Once charged fully it can run up to 250 km. It receives power from a permanent magnet synchronous AC motor developing a peak power of 320 hp and a continuous power output of 190 hp.

 

The bus has two doors and staircases to reach the top decks. The list of features offered in EiV22 includes digital ticketing, live tracking, a panic button for emergencies, a digital display and CCTV cameras. It can accommodate 65 passengers on comfortable seats. In case, of including the standing passenger, it can carry almost 100 passengers.