New Town to be first in state to get AC electric buses

Kolkata: New Town is going to the first area in Bengal, where air-conditioned electric buses will be introduced soon.

The vehicles will be introduced in the areas that are not connected by buses. Three buses will be introduced, which will follow a circular route. Two buses will be for Action Area I and one for Action Area II.

The buses will go up to Unitech, covering the campus of St. Xavier's University and Karigari Bhavan. The average speed of the buses will be between 40-50 kmph.

The fare of the buses will be Rs 10. There will be no conductors. The drivers will collect the fare and a machine will be installed to generate the tickets.

The bus drivers will be given special training to handle the buses along with collection of tickets. The battery needs to be charged and charging stations have come up.

The body of the buses with 32 seats has been built by Eicher, while Karnataka based KPIT has installed the electrical systems. The buses are likely to be introduced in the middle of May. Trial runs are being made.

New Town has been declared as a green city and steps have already been taken by Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation (HIDCO).

Cycle sharing, an eco-friendly scheme, has become a great success and discussions are on to introduce e-vehicles on sharing basis as well.

LED lamps have been installed in street lights to conserve power.