E-BUS CHALLENGES

The Covid pandemic could turn the tide in favor of electric buses post addressing some of the foremost challenges, including those that pertain to the operating environment.

- Deepti Thore

The Covid pandemic has completely altered the outlook for buses. It has almost overhauled any outlook that held truth before its onset, and could set the road for buses that offer better value to the operators; enough to acquire them in the first place, and extend a sense of safety and stability to those who travel in them. An interesting part of the equation is, the higher preference electric buses could get in the Covid environment as the world anticipates a second wave and a third wave. If a vaccine would just save the world from the brink of successive virus breaks, it is buses that would play an important role in helping the return of sanity. Electric ones especially. So, as the CV industry struggles to attract new bus buyers, a potential shift from public transportation to private transport is adding to the challenge no doubt. Therefore, a big challenge for bus operations would be to address challenges like the overcrowding of buses and difficulty in maintaining social distancing.