Bengaluru: In the end of 2019, electric buses joined Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) fleet as part of the Union govt’s efforts to reduce land public transport pollution considerably. Cut to the present. BMTC has reported a breakdown of at least 100 e-buses — or 6% of the total e-fleet of 1,700 — every day, on average, in the Oct-Dec 2025 period, raising concerns over vehicles’ reliability. Of the nearly 9,000 breakdowns in the period, 65% of them were due to battery and related issues.BMTC has a total of 7,100 buses in its fleet: 5,300 are diesel and 1,730 e-buses.Alarmed by the frequency of failures in BMTC’s e-fleet, the state govt flagged concerns to the Centre over the operational performance of electric buses, which are run by four private operators on BMTC’s behalf. It maintained there has been no significant improvement in efficiency despite repeated warnings and penalties. While BMTC has suffered high cancellation of scheduled kilometres per bus, private operators have argued that the city’s traffic congestion, poor road conditions and heavy passenger loads during peak hours are external stress factors. Transport minister Ramalinga Reddy has written to Union minister HD Kumaraswamy, highlighting breakdowns, which have inconvenienced commuters and caused revenue losses to the corporation. This is his second letter to the Centre in five months.Under the Centre’s Gross Cost Contract (GCC) model, BMTC operates 1,700 electric buses through private players: Switch Mobility Automotive, NVVNL, TML Smart City Mobility and OHM Global Mobility. Each operator has a fleet of 90 to over 1,000 buses.Data for Oct-Dec shows operational gaps with battery-related failures as a major factor. Switch Mobility Automotive recorded 4,961 breakdowns against 10,704 between April and Sept; NVVNL 1,186 (602 earlier), TML Smart City Mobility 180 (against 1,876 earlier) and Global Mobility logged 205 (144 earlier) breakdown complaints.Interestingly, breakdowns not related to battery issues were equally significant. TML Smart City Mobility reported 1,179 such incidents (735 earlier), Switch Mobility with 1,013 (173), OHM Global Mobility 172 (378), and NVVNL with 99 (84).Due to these breakdowns, cancellation of scheduled kilometres also remained high. The percentage of cancellations stood at 13% for Oct-Dec (9.8% for April-Sept) for Switch Mobility, 7.7% (8.8%) for OHM Global Mobility, 5.6% (4.4%) for TML Smart City Mobility, and 4.9% (7.5%) for NVVNL.The data, accessed by the TOI, also flagged safety concerns. Instances of mobile phone usage by crew rose to 70 (33 earlier) for TML, 26 (21) for OHM, and 18 (10) for Switch Mobility. Cases of drunk and rash driving were the highest for TML at 207 (160), followed by OHM at 85 (26) and Switch Mobility at 63 (24).Reddy said under the PM-eDrive scheme, BMTC is set to receive 4,500 electric buses in the coming years and stressed that existing concerns must be addressed before finalising tenders for the next batch.He underscored the need to examine battery performance, bus-to-driver ratios and financial implications arising from operators’ inability to adhere to contractual terms. BMTC plans to invest between ₹400 crore and ₹500 crore to upgrade depots and related infrastructure to accommodate the expanded fleet.An official from one of the four operators said lithium-ion batteries typically degrade by 4% annually, but bumper-to-bumper traffic, frequent acceleration and braking, and high loads accelerate energy draw and reduce effective range.Under contractual terms, each bus is supposed to operate 200-220km daily. But it runs 170–190km, resulting in missed trips. Operators cited potholes and speed breakers affecting high-voltage components, summer heat straining battery cooling systems, and waterlogged roads during monsoon causing electrical faults.INFOGRAPHIC | BMTC E-BUS PERFORMANCE (Oct–Dec 2025)Total Breakdowns (3 months): 8,995Battery-related: 6,532Average daily breakdowns: ~100Under GCC modelTotal e-buses in operation: ~1,730Private operators: 4Upcoming under PM-eDrive: 4,500 busesScheduled KM CancellationsSwitch Mobility: 13%OHM Global Mobility: 7.7%TML Smart City: 5.6%NVVNL: 4.9%Safety Flags (Oct–Dec)Mobile phone usage by crew: 114 casesDrunk/rash driving cases: 355BMTC Infra Investment Planned: Rs 400 – Rs 500 croreKey Concerns: Battery degradation, traffic congestion, poor road conditions, high passenger load, contractual violations
