Tata Motors starts pilot run of electric bus in Chandigarh

Tata Motors has begun trials of its 9-metre electric bus in Chandigarh. The 31-seater Tata Ultra Electric bus will be on a trial run for over 15 days, jointly carried out with Chandigarh Transport Undertaking and the State Transport Department. The Chandigarh administration has started the process of introducing electric buses in the city under its Smart City plan.

This project is in continuation to the successful trial of the 9m electric bus trial from Parwanoo to Shimla a few weeks ago. Tata Motors says, “the bus performed exceedingly well covering a distance of 160km in one full charge. The initial trials in Chandigarh also show very encouraging results in a running of 143km, covering approximately 70 percent of the charge.”

These trials are part of the Ministry of Road Transport’s agenda for the electrification of public transport, for which Tata Motors is getting ready with its range of electric vehicles, from 9 metres and 12 metres with various seating configurations, as well as its last-mile passenger transport vehicle, the Tata Magic Iris.

Dr  AK Jindal, Head, Engineering Research Centre, Tata Motors said, “Tata Motors is participating in similar trials currently under way in Nagpur, where these buses were flagged off very recently by Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and the government of Maharashtra. These trials are part of Tata Motors larger strategy to be present with its electric vehicle offerings, with best-in-class value proposition, helping the company better understand its customer requirements under different operating conditions, to suitably optimise its offerings. Tata Motors is also working with various study groups formed by the central government to work out various business models for operating electric vehicles and to optimise the overall economics of these buses.”