Tata Motors, which is supplying buses to the Government under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, is ready with hybrid buses that can be run on both compressed natural gas and diesel by a motor fitted with the battery of the vehicle.
“The best part about these hybrid buses is that one does not need to recharge it by plugging in. The engine itself keeps on charging the motor while the bus is running,” VS Noronha, Vice-President – Defence and Government Business, Tata Motors, told BusinessLine .
The company has already run tests for the hybrid buses and got some orders from State Governments, including Karnataka (30 buses). Tata Motors plied two such buses during the Commonwealth Games held in Delhi in 2010.
“The idea is to take private transport off the roads and encourage public transport in urban areas, thanks to the Urban Development Ministry, which is subsidising city transport to the extent of 35 per cent of the cost of a bus and up to 90 per cent of the cost of a bus in hilly regions,” he said.
Noronha said Tata Motors, by making such hybrid and fuel-cell vehicles, would also contribute to the Government’s National Electric Mobility Mission Plan, where both electric and hybrid vehicles would be in demand.
Orders on hand
Tata Motors has orders from the Himachal Pradesh Government for 780 buses which will be delivered in the next few months. It is also in talks for 1,380 buses for Delhi.
Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) has also floated two global tenders for annual maintenance cost (AMC) of the vehicles.
“There was no other company willing for AMC but Tata Motors bid for that tender. We are confident and said we are willing to give the AMC for the next 10 years. This would also mean a contract for around ₹2,600 crore,” Noronha said.
Bus-body facilities
In another development, Noronha said Tata Motors has started its own bus-body building factories in Pune and Faridabad in Haryana (under a contract programme).
The company also has its own subsidiaries for body building - Automobile Corporation of Goa Ltd in Goa and two Tata Marcopolo facilities in Dharwad, (Karnataka) and Lucknow.
Correction
This copy was amended on January 23, 2015. An earlier version said Tata Motors already had orders for 1,380 buses from the Delhi Government. This has been corrected to reflect that the company is in talks with the Delhi government for the order.