Indian study says electric buses earn 82% more profit than diesel buses

Cities around the world are investigating the potential of electric transit buses to reduce costs and improve air quality. The latest is Bangalore, India’s high-tech hub, which recently tested what it says are the country’s first electric buses.

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Electric buses’ greater energy efficiency compared to legacy diesel vehicles (and even CNG buses) has already been well documented. Now a study from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) has found another reason that e-buses are superior, it is more profitable.

“Electric buses generate 27% more revenue and 82% more profit than diesel buses per day. Furthermore, 25 tonnes of CO2 emission can be cut every year for every diesel bus replaced by an electric bus” said study co-author Ms.Sheela Ramasesha. The IISc researchers tested a Chinese-built electric bus for three months on an existing route in Bangalore, and compared its economic and environmental impact with a diesel bus on the same route. The lower fuel and maintenance costs of the e-bus made it a more profitable proposition. According to IISc, India has some 1,50,000 diesel buses (and around 670,000 annual deaths from air pollution).