India expands electric bus fleet nationally

India is vastly improving its public transportation offerings with 5,000 new electric buses deployed nationally.

Switch Mobility and Chalo (India’s most prominent transport tech company) are partnering to deploy 5,000 Switch electric buses throughout India to improve public transportation. For a country that is incredibly dependent on public transport (buses specifically), the companies hope that these electric buses will dramatically reduce emissions and increase the reliability of public transportation.

According to Mohit Dubey, Co-Founder & CEO of Chalo, 48% of daily transportation in India occurs via bus, yet the country only has three buses for every 10,000 people. This incredible demand for buses, yet low supply, makes the market ideal for electric vehicle implementation and growth.

Mahesh Babu, CEO of Switch Mobility India & COO of Switch Mobility Ltd, explained what a significant opportunity this is for both India and Switch: “The changing mobility landscape in India is significantly altering the way people travel within cities. Given our vision to accelerate the adoption of clean, sustainable electric transportation solutions, we are delighted to partner with Chalo for a first-of-its-kind partnership in this space. We aim to transform the urban mobility in the country by leveraging Chalo’s strong customer connect and operational expertise along with our technologically advanced electric vehicle products.”

Switch is deploying its newest EiV12 electric buses across India, and they hope to use them as inter-city, intra-city, and even school transport. The bus has a carrying capacity of up to 45 people, a range of 300 kilometers (186 miles), and can fast charge in as little as an hour and a half.

On top of these technical specs, the Switch EiV12 remains quieter than ICE alternatives while not emitting fumes that can often accumulate in city centers. For a country that has struggled with emissions issues for years, using electric buses could dramatically improve public health and environmental conditions.