Why we need electric buses before electric cars
Union minister Nitin Gadkari’s keynote speech at the annual Society of Indian Automobile Manufactures (SIAM) convention in 2017 had enough references to India’s electric mobility transformation by 2032. He went on to add that vehicle manufacturers will have to make provisions for the use of alternative fuels to check pollution levels or risk getting bulldozed. Since then, the government has revoked its plan of introducing an electric vehicle policy, and will instead look at introducing an action plan.
As radical and vociferous the decision may seem, this is a strong move in the broader scheme of things that will redefine India’s motorable and energy future. But the decision to alter the entire logistics and transportation industry of India into one battery-packed electric preferential mobility system has taken everyone by surprise given how poorly the segment had performed over the years, barely making inroads.
The literal reconfiguration of the nation’s transportation network in the next decade and a half has been touted as its “LED” moment. A reference to what the Vienna Energy Forum famously referred to as the “largest energy transformation project in the world”, the task of replacing millions of street and household lights with energy-saving and long-lasting LEDs. With EESL’s recent e mobility tender acquisition by TATA Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra and Karnataka’s “Electric Vehicle and Energy Storage Policy” securing an approval from the government, the plunge towards a secure electric vehicle network has never been more prominent.
However, in order to sustain these efforts and truly light up the country’s electrification development, we need to shift some part of our commitment from mass producing electric vehicles, and invest that focus in public transportation, especially buses. The illuminating reason for the propagation of this notion is a simple fact, and it is that still a large number of the world's population is overwhelmingly dependent on public transportation to serve its motoring needs.
As of now, 66 per cent of all transportation, both non-motorised (walking and biking) and public constitute a major chunk of all the trips taken in India, of which buses rake in 90 per cent in most of the cities. More than two-thirds of all motorable transportation being utilised without realistically owning vehicles is evidence of the opportunity that can be seized upon by electric buses — and further galvanise an electric vision.
Inspiration from Europe
From Barcelona to Warsaw, from Helsinki to Birmingham, electric buses have been tried and tested all across Europe in the efforts to make the entire public transportation in the continent CO2-neutral. The city council of Copenhagen have just reached the conclusion that all new buses beginning operation in the city from 2019 will be completely electric. The decision is in light with its vision to conclude their climate goals by seemingly eradicating the 25,000 tonnes of CO2 that it produces every year.
Through its trials, the state transportation was also able to infer the kind of charging that would best suit its transportability needs. It concluded that overnight charging made it difficult to keep enough buses on the road, thus the council is now exploring the realms of charging systems at the terminus that recharge the bus rapidly.
Only last month the city of Trondheim, Norway entrusted ABB with its largest ever order to deploy 35 fully electric buses to become the largest electric bus fleet in the country. The fully electric bus from Volvo will run on four routes in Trondheim, covering distances between 12 and 15km each, with operations due to start in August 2019. The city is no stranger to green initiatives — in 2010 they were among the first in Europe to order hybrid buses from Volvo to propel their ascent within the eco-friendly pedigee.
Diesel and electricity taxes
The systematic and wilful implementation of electric buses will not be plausible if there continues to be a giant discrepancy between the electricity and diesel taxes. Electricity taxes ideally should never be higher than diesel taxes, otherwise it would be challenging to make the entire scenario economically convenient for the STUs (State transport undertaking) and the commuters alike without proper incentives.
The excise duty on diesel in India has already risen by over 380 per cent in the last three years. Over and above this, the government has decided to levy a cess of 15 per cent upon the GST rate of 28 per cent on buses, thereby taking the overall tax incidence on such vehicles to 43 per cent. At present, the total cost of ownership of a 9-12 metre electric bus is Rs 2.5 to 3 crore over 10 years including acquisition, operation and cost of ownership. Although its purchasing price is comparatively higher the cost of a conventional bus, the operating costs are significantly less and in turn would outweigh the original price in a few years.
However, this process can only cease to exist if the cost of electricity tax levied doesn’t supersede the socially acceptable sentiment of affordability throughout.
In the long run, the comprehensive goal isn’t just to make vehicles electric, but to reduce personal driving. This means the conclusive refurbishment of walking and biking pathways be made seamless with public transportation, in order to create a systematic transit ecosystem.
The establishment of charging stations is pivotal to this process, especially since we intend to create a mass market EV adoption in the country. Charging infrastructure coupled with strategic categorisation by location, power levels and charging time strategy will augment EV functionality and decrease public charging requirements.
However, there still exist a few challenges that can impede the nation’s EV adoption. Until a conclusive action plan is devised, we can only suggest temporary measures. For starters, the government should create the right framework and let the market decide on the idea/technology it wishes to bank upon instead of trying to pick technological winners.