Electric buses in Maharashtra: lessons from interviews and recommendations for future rollout in India
Although only three new electric buses were registered in India in 2015, that grew to 1,176 new electric buses registered in the year 2021 alone. Some transit authorities in India have been operating electric buses for a few years now and innovative procurement models and schedules that accommodate the longer refueling time for electric buses are already being developed and used. This report captures the experiences from three Indian cities that adopted electric buses early: Mumbai, Pune, and Navi Mumbai. These cities represent about 42% of the electric buses already operating in India and they were obtained using both outright purchase and gross cost contract models. Taking information gleaned from interviews with 21 representatives from transit authorities and private bus operators, the authors identify key experiences and lessons from the electric bus rollouts. The report also draws from international best practices to make specific recommendations for the future.
