KOLKATA: The city has featured among six global megacities for its faster adoption of electric vehicles in mass transportation. The EV City Casebook 2021, which will be released on March 11, will have Kolkata as a case study along with Shenzhen (China), Santiago (Chile), Izmir (Turkey), London (UK) and Vancouver (Canada).
In fact, Kolkata stands third — ahead of London — in terms of ‘percentage penetration of e-buses’. Significantly, Shenzhen is way ahead, with 99% of the world’s electric buses being in China. Kolkata, with its largest fleet of electric buses among Indian cities, along with the oldest surviving tram network of Asia, makes a good case study of electric mass transit.
The ‘Third EV City Casebook’ presents informative case studies on the city and regional EV deployment efforts around the world. These case studies are illustrative examples of how pioneering cities are preparing the ground for mass-market EV deployment. The only other Indian city that features in this casebook is Ahmedabad. But that is for the electric taxi segment.
The purpose of the EV City Casebook is to share experiences on EV demonstration and deployment, identify challenges and opportunities, and highlight best practices for creating thriving EV ecosystems. These studies seek to enhance understanding of the most effective policy measures to foster the uptake of electric vehicles in urban areas, said a transport department officer.
To produce the Casebook, Urban Foresight worked in collaboration with The Electric Vehicles Initiative (EVI) and the International Energy Agency (IEA) under their ‘Implementing Agreement’ for Cooperation on Hybrid & Electric Vehicle (HEV) Technologies and Programmes.
“This casebook is a showcase of cities building better, cleaner mobility through EVs – designed to inspire others to move towards mass electric mobility. Kolkata has run an electric tramway for more than a century. The city is now also taking a leading role to introduce electric buses for public transport with an aim to reduce vehicular pollution within the city,” said Alekhya Datta, Fellow and area convenor, electricity and fuels division, TERI, who has been roped in by West Bengal Transport Corporation (WBTC) as an advisor for its EV expansion.
However, experts are anxious about the way Asia’s oldest surviving tram network is shrinking. The complete tram network must be revived to bring back its glory, said city’s tram lovers. “It is highly possible. It requires only innovative thinking and love for its immense heritage value,” said a WBTC officer.
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