Alappuzha: The much-touted Thiruvananthapuram-Ernakulam AC electric buses of KSRTC has broken down on its maiden trip. The employees of the public transporter blamed poor planning before the e-bus launch for the incident.
The first bus headed to Ernakulam stopped near X-ray Junction in Cherthala after its batteries ran dry on Sunday. The Cherthala bus stand does not have a charging point.
The second bus, plying along the same route, had to stop service at Vyttila after it ran out of charge.
Proper study was not held before the long-distance trip, it is alleged.
It was notified in advance that batteries may die before the completion of trip if crowded intersections on highways create unexpected traffic delays. This was not taken into consideration by the crew or authorities.
Five trips were planned from the capital to Ernakulam via Kollam and Alappuzha by the KSRTC from Monday.
The KSRTC had prepared plans to launch electric buses some time ago, but no follow-up measures were taken. However, after Tomin J Thachankary took charge as the CMD, the files began moving fast. (Thachankary was removed from the post recently.) It is planning to deploy around 300 electric buses.
Goldstone Infratech Limited, which is in charge of the electric bus services in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra and Telangana, had carried out the trial run of the e-buses for KSRTC.
The bus has advanced features like CCTV camera, GPS and entertainment systems. The first bus had reached the state last June.
A battery electric bus runs on electric motor and obtains energy from on-board batteries.
