At 1.35 billion, India is the second most populated countries in the world. Moreover, with the increasing population, traffic conditions will worsen in the coming time. This is why people are opting for public transportation vehicle ditching their private vehicles. However, the city bus manufacturers are yet to reach their full potential as people are still getting used to traveling in public transport. Are you someone who can’t travel without his car? Do you find it difficult to travel from one place to another in a public vehicle? Or do you travel in metro? According to the industry estimate, it has been found that there are a total of 16.5 lakh vehicles in India out of which 15 lakh serves the private sector and 1.5 lakh make up for the public sector segment. However, a majority of them are old and outdated vehicles. Therefore, new and improved public transport such as buses is the need of the hour to serve the increasing population. While China has more than 6,80,000 buses to serve its population which is greater the India. India, on the other hand, have only 4,10,000 buses serving the population out of which a majority of buses are outdated. This is why it is important to look for alternatives for diesel and petrol buses, said a representative of one of the best city bus manufacturers. Electric Buses are the future of Indian transportation and the country will be importing them if they cannot be developed in the country, said Ashok Jhunjhunwala, Principal Advisor, Ministry of Power & New and Renewable Energy, Government of India. He further added that the capital cost of making the electric vehicles would be at par with diesel or petrol vehicles in the coming five years. Moreover, when compared to energy efficiency, electric vehicles are going to be highly efficient and reliable than their counterparts. So, what is the future of buses in India? With the auto industry focusing on improving mobility, there is no denying the fact that a majority of the population is depending on public transport. However, as the world is looking for alternative transportation options, some of the best bus brands in India are also planning to develop future-ready buses. These buses would run on clean energy. Here is a look at some of the best future bus model concept. Hybrid Buses Hybrid electric buses combine an electric propulsion system along with the conventional internal combustion engine propulsion system. These future ready buses generally use Diesel electric powertrain and will be called as hybrid Diesel-electric buses. Manufacturers are planning to launch hybrid buses to tackle the air pollution problem. Moreover, by introducing a fuel that contains 20% biodiesel, it will help in reducing the greenhouse emission and petroleum consumption. This concept is popular in the west and Indian bus manufacturing companies are taking cues from them. Coffee Fueled Buses A company in London has found a way to deal with the increasing air pollution in the capital. They are using a new source of fuel i.e. coffee grounds to power their buses. It has been estimated that approximately 50,000 tons of coffee waste can be recycled in a year to extract oil which will be further used to power the future buses. Coffee fueled buses will provide a greener alternative to travel from point A to point B. While this may have been an imaginary concept earlier, it is soon going to be a reality. As Delhi chokes on heavy pollution, India will also look for a similar green alternative to fuel the public transport. With average Indian drinking 2 or 3 cups of coffee a day, there will be enough coffee waste to power the buses. Recommended: Future Energy: Can Buses Run On Coffee? Self Driven Buses Self-driven buses will soon become a reality in India as different companies are coming up with different techniques to develop the bus. This future-ready bus will be able to drive itself on suitable routes, automatically stop at the stations and will be able to communicate with the traffic lights. Self-driven buses will make public transport safer, productive and efficient. People can easily travel from one point to the other quickly, comfortably and on time. It will benefit the passenger, bus operators, and drivers. These future ready buses will be worth the wait. Electric Buses Another type of buses that we can see on roads in the near future includes the electric buses. These buses can easily run up to 200 km on a single charge. Moreover, it will only take up to 3 hours to completely charge the batteries. Along with helping to improve the environmental conditions, these buses will also offer excellent savings in operations. While they will cost approximately 8 Rs per km, diesel and CNG buses cost Rs 20 and Rs 15 per kilometer respectively. Must Read: How Buses Are Key To Success For Improving Air Quality? Green Fuel Buses Goa government is all set to launch buses that run on biogas. The state is set to have more than 40 buses that will run either on biogas or will be ethanol-powered buses. The buses will be sustained through biogas that will be generated at the solid waste management plant. Moreover, once the project flagged off in Goa, the concept will also be adopted by other states in the country. This green initiative will help in dealing with the increasing pollution levels and make it easy to switch to non-polluting transport vehicles in the near future. The biogas run buses will make the cities cleaner and the environment healthier. These were some of the best examples that define the future of buses in India. Mr. Jhunjhunwala was also quoted as saying that with the prices of batteries falling in the near future, the bus body building price will be reduced and thus companies will choose to manufacture electric vehicles in the coming years. However, he also said that if India chooses to wait for the next 5 or 6 years, it will end up importing the electric buses instead of their counterparts. Different countries such as the U.S., China, and Germany are already focusing on electric vehicle and it is seen as the best alternative to petrol and diesel buses. Are you eagerly waiting for green fuel buses? Want to see coffee fueled buses ply in India too? Well, let us know your views on will these buses will help reduce pollution in India.
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