India’s first double-decker AC electric bus hits Mumbai roads, gets mixed response

Like many other countries, India has been rolling out electric vehicles, including e-buses, for urban public transport. The appeal of these buses is that they have minimal costs of operation. However, this is the first time a double-decker e-bus has been launched in the country, that too on a gross cost contract (GCC) basis.

There have been quite a few e-bus deployments in various cities in India, but financing these vehicles has been a herculean task in itself. Therefore, it would be interesting to see what types of financing mechanisms the government and private players adopt. That being said, it is imperative to track the footfall in double-decker buses to determine whether they are profitable.