Gurgaon: A 9-metre electric bus took to the city’s roads on Monday as Gurgaon Metropolitan City Bus Limited (GMCBL) began testing its first e-bus under real city conditions. The trial, conducted in coordination with Gurgaon Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA), will continue till Wednesday and assess whether the bus can cope with city traffic, road conditions and passenger load.The bus will run on four routes — Route 212, Route 215B, Route 134B and Route 254B — covering congested stretches, long-distance corridors and roads with varying surface conditions. Officials said the focus is on checking the bus’s battery performance and health, passenger-carrying capacity, reliability and overall operational efficiency. Particular attention will be paid to battery performance on traffic-heavy stretches and the vehicle’s response to uneven and undulating roads.“Electric mobility can significantly contribute to reducing vehicular emissions and noise levels while providing commuters with a cleaner and more sustainable mode of public transportation,” GMDA CEO PC Meena said. “The findings of this trial will help us understand its operational requirements and suitability before considering wider deployment on appropriate routes.”The 25-seat air-conditioned e-bus will operate en route 212 starting at Basai and covering Sheetla Mata Mandir, Iffco Chowk, Millennium City Centre, Subhash Chowk and Hero Honda Chowk before ending the journey at Basai; Route 215B between Gurgaon Bus Stand and Dundahera; Route 134B between Iffco Chowk metro station and Dhana Mode; and Route 254B between Gurgaon Bus Stand and Pataudi.GMCBL CEO Vishwajeet Chaudhary said the exercise would provide practical inputs on the routes and operating conditions that would be suitable for electric buses.The data assessment will be carried out with GMCBL officials and the operator of the Intelligent Bus Transport Management system. The trial comes after GMCBL received its first electric bus last month as part of its planned fleet of 100 e-buses. Following the assessment, 25 buses will be rolled out in the city.The city last expanded its bus fleet in 2021, when eight air-conditioned CNG buses were inducted. The arrival of the e-buses is expected to strengthen public transport at a time when fewer than 150 buses are available for operations.GMCBL currently has around 200 buses, but nearly 50 are operating in Faridabad following state govt directions. Several buses in the existing fleet are old and prone to frequent breakdowns, affecting service reliability and connectivity.
