As a joint initiative of the Lumbini Development Trust (LDT) and Sajha Yatayat, Nepal’s public transport department, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli launched electric bus services in the Kathmandu Valley on October 23, 2018.

PM launched the services in a unique way by travelling in the bus from Pulchowk-based Sajha Yatayat premises to Singha Durbar. “It is necessary to emphasize the operation of electric buses during the shortage of petroleum products,” said Oli after the launch.

Oli added that the government will work with authorities for full-fledged promotion of such vehicles soon.

Supporting these services, the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) will be installing charging stations at 20 different places.

Expressing government’s commitment towards promoting such vehicles, Oli also welcomed private sector for expansion of such services across the country.

The initiative is part of the South Asia Tourism Infrastructure Development Project backed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Under the project, ADB has provided five electric buses to LDT and two of those were brought to Kathmandu for operation from today.

Sajha Yatayat will be managing the services of these eco-friendly buses that are also disabled-friendly.

Fossil Fuel Usage Below 50% by 2050

On the occasion, Oli announced a new action plan for promotion electric transport which envisages to make at least 20 percent public vehicles in the country battery-operated or electric by 2020.

The Prime Minister also unveiled the country’s maiden National Plan of Action for Electric Mobility, formed on the basis of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) agreed upon at the 2015 Paris Climate Conference. 

“It is the beginning of a new era in public transportation. We had trolley buses donated by China 40 years ago, but that  was unfortunately closed. We are now reopening the door to electric mobility,” said Sajha Yatayat’s Executive Director Bhushan Tuladhar.

PM also announced that the country will reduce its fossil fuel dependence to the level of 50 percent by 2050.

Through such measures, the government plans to make Nepal self-reliant with its hydropower potential in the near future, provide electricity supply at cheaper prices to support battery-operated vehicles and replace fuel usage with the domestically-generated clean energy solutions.

Meanwhile, analysts feel that the country need to import a minimum of 5,000 electric buses to reach the goals announced by PM. They opined that making one-fifth of diesel-run vehicles electric by 2020 is an uphill task, considering the current scenario.

As the reports say, Nepal imported 23,638 diesel-run buses, mini & micro buses, jeeps and three-wheelers in the last 25 years, with majority of them still operating successfully.

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The new 18-seater feeder bus, which can run up to 200-km on a single charge, will now facilitate connectivity on the Lumbini Tourism Lines in the Himalayan country.

The zero-emission electric feeder bus, a joint venture of Goldstone Infratech and BYD Auto Industry, was launched by Ananth Geete, Union minister for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises.

The makers will be delivering five units of this feeder bus to Nepal and hope to launch the transport facility in neighboring countries in the upcoming months.

Roadmap for the Future

The two companies released statements that speak about the nature and scope of such projects.

“We are greatly encouraged by the quality of electric buses that are being manufactured in India by Goldstone and these manufacturing facilities in India will be used for export to SAARC Countries. ‘eBuzz K6’ to be supplied to Nepal is a step in that direction. We are committed to making vehicles that are not only environment-friendly, but also help in greatly reducing the carbon footprint,” reads a statement by BYD India.

Meanwhile, Goldstone Infratech in its release said, “Our focus has not only been to ‘Make in India’, but also ‘Made for India’ to meet the requirements of our diversity in the landscapes and terrains of the country. Our proven ability to build customized, robust, yet sophisticated electric buses with utmost passenger comfort will enable us to meet the requirements of markets abroad too.”

Through such initiatives we are sure that both Nepal and India have reached a smart solution that will tackle their congestion and pollution concerns.

Talking about the challenges, he says the Tata team is constrained by the limited availability of charging facilities.

Nepal for Green Environment
This is not the first time that Nepal is being introduced to electric automobiles. Earlier in January-February of 2018, the country welcomed its first Electric Vehicle (EV), manufactured by Indian automobile giant Tata Motors.

Speaking about the project, Srujan Roy from Tata Motors talked about hard they were working to make these cars available in Nepal and that the Tata EV will be soon seen running across the country.

On a good note:

Nepal is well known for its environment-friendly decisions. The concept of running an electric feeder bus in the country only strengthens its hold as one of the countries who is serious about its environmental initiatives. This move not only boosts its take on a healthy environment but also gives its tourism sector a boost.

Kudos to Nepal for its efforts in preserving the ecology! We wish the nation luck for such undertakings in the future.

Also Read:

• Go Green: Nepal’s Transition to Green Vehicles Possible in 10 Years
• Leading Auto Giant Announces EVs In Nepal

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