Starting in May, passengers traveling to and from Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) in Bengaluru can ride in electric air-conditioned (AC) buses.

Charging Setup

The BMTC (Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation) is setting up a charging station near Terminal 2 of the airport.

It will be located about 1 km from the terminal, in the airport parking lot.

The station can charge up to 3 buses at a time using a method called opportunity charging, which takes about 45 minutes for a quick top-up.

About the Buses

So far, BMTC has received 58 AC electric buses from Ohm Mobility Private Limited (a part of Ashok Leyland).

These are part of a bigger order of 320 e-buses.

The buses are being brought in under a Gross Cost Contract (GCC), using ₹150 crore from government funds.

A formal launch ceremony is planned soon.

Bus Details

Each bus can run up to 200 km on a full charge, which takes about 60–70 minutes.

Under the contract, the buses must run 225 km/day for 350 days/year for 12 years.

The manufacturer handles bus maintenance and provides drivers.

Current Routes

The 58 e-buses are based at Depot 18 (ITPL).

They operate on routes like:

Kadugodi Bus Station to Banashankari, Majestic, and Central Silk Board

Hoskote to Attibele

More depots — Subhashnagar (7), Kathriguppe (13), and HSR Layout (25) — are being readied for full charging support.

Performance & Challenges

Buses are performing reasonably well, but there are some technical issues like:

Sudden braking, acceleration, and deceleration

Driver recruitment is also slower than expected, causing delays.

Replacing Volvo Buses

These e-buses will eventually replace old Volvo AC buses, especially on the airport route.

BMTC had 560 Volvo buses earlier, now only 450 are left.

This includes 308 Vajra and 142 Vayu Vajra (airport) buses.

Cost Comparison

Vayu Vajra (airport) buses cost: ₹84/km

But they earn: ₹72.33/km

Vajra (tech corridor) buses cost: ₹90+/km

But they earn: ₹50.81/km

New AC e-buses cost only ₹65.8/km

Plus ₹14–15/km for conductor wages

Total Fleet

BMTC runs 6,875 buses in total

Of these, 1,369 are electric