The benefits of electric vehicles in public transport over traditional ICEs cannot be overlooked to achieve India’s commitment to net-zero emissions by 2070. 

Indian cities have faced several challenges to secure the future of electrification albeit national procurement schemes (FAME) due to high capital investments, knowledge gap for its operations, and an inconducive policy environment.

What we do 

ITDP India has been supporting Chennai and Pune to accelerate the adoption of e-buses. An analysis of the performance of Pune’s e-buses shows that they are able to match or outperform ICE buses on various factors including cost of operations, energy costs,  

While progress in Chennai has been gradual, we have focused on state-level policy interventions to accelerate adoption. The recently revised Tamil Nadu EV Policy incorporated demand-based energy pricing to reduce costs, as well as incentives for charging infrastructure and privately owned & operated. This is a significant feat as over 95 % of buses in India are operated by the private sector that have historically lacked any incentives to transition.