Tata Motors has commenced trials of its nine meters electric bus in Guwahati on Monday, October 16. With seating capacity of 26-34 passengers, the full-auto transmission equipped Tata Ultra Electric bus was flagged off by Anand Prakash Tiwari, MD of Assam State Transport Corporation (ASTC).
ASTC in collaboration with Tata Motors will run this trial for seven days and will offer free transport service to the participants of FIFA team and devotees from Plantan Bazar to Maa Kamakhya temple.
The pilot-run in the northeastern state is in continuation to the trial of the electric bus from Parwanoo to Shimla a few months ago, where the bus covered a distance of 160km in one full charge. Later the trials in Chandigarh also showed encouraging 143km, covering approximately 70 percent of the charge.
The trials are a part of the Ministry of Road Transport's agenda for the electrification of public transport. Tata Motors is forefront in the mission and ready with its range of electric vehicles, from nine meters and 12 meters 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 commented, "With increasing focus of automotive industry and government towards electrification of automobiles, Tata Motors has been continuously pushing the boundaries in the electric mobility space and is the first company in country to get ARAI and homologation certification for their 9 meters and 12 meters electric bus. These buses qualify for the subsidy under revised FAME scheme which will give a big boost to the electrification of public transport. We have conducted trials all across the country to understand the local city requirements and fine-tune to bus specifications to offer most economical mobility solution and we have been receiving a positive response to our trails."
Tata Motors had unveiled Ultra Electric at Auto Expo 2016. The complete electric drivetrain and zero emissions bus is based on the Tata Ultra platform. It boasts of a wide passageway for free movement, wider window panes for better visibility along with Super Low Floor (SLF) of 650 mm. The Ultra Electric coaches are fitted with CCTV cameras and Intelligence Transport Systems (ITS) for public information through GPS via electronic destination display boards.
