Tata Motors Begins Electric Bus Trial Runs In Guwahati

Tata Motors commenced trial runs of its ELECTRIC 9m bus in the city of Guwahati on October 16, 2017. The trial runs are being held in collaboration with ASTC (Assam State Transport Corporation) and was flagged off by its managing director, Anand Prakash Tiwari. The electric buses undergoing trial runs from Plantan Bazaar in the city will provide free transport service for both Fifa U-17 teams and devotees visiting Maa Kamakhya Temple.

Earlier this year, Tata Motors held a trial run of the Ultra ELECTRIC 9m bus from Parwanoo to Shimla covering a total distance of 160km on a full charge. In another trial held in Chandigarh, the bus covered about 143km consuming 70 per cent of the full charge. With these trials, Tata Motors is preparing itself for the future as the Union ministry of transport has already announced its plan of full electrification of public transport in the country.

According to Tata, these electric buses are based on proven bus platforms which provide better driveability and restart gradeability, which means that the bus can restart its climb easily even after coming to a halt on a slope. The buses are equipped with an efficient powertrain and an optimised battery paired to Tata’s proprietary energy management system and vehicle control strategy which allows for a low total cost of maintenance. Tata claims that the liquid-cooled EV battery pack used on the bus is designed specifically for Indian conditions and will provide higher battery life and better performance. The battery packs are mounted on the roof of the bus and helps prevent water logging of the electrical system in flood conditions. Tata says that the range of the bus can be extended to about  220-240 km by installing a small battery pack equipped with opportunity charging.

The new range of buses are equipped with features such as Multiplex wiring system, automatic ticketing/Smart Card-enabled system, reverse camera assist, etc.

Tata Motors has already launched the 9m and 12m STARBUS ELECTRIC buses along with small commercial vehicles like IRIS and Magic to mark its presence in the electric commercial vehicle market.

Last month, Tata Motors bagged an order to supply 10,000 electric cars in two phases from ESSL (Energy Efficiency Services Limited). The first phase will see Tata Motors deliver 500 cars to various government departments. The remaining cars will be delivered in the second phase, the timeline for which is still not known.

With steps like these, we think Tata Motors is moving forward in the right direction and paving the way for electric mobility in the near future.