HRTC’s Electric bus, Himtarang had its first commercial run from Manali to Rohtang on Monday. The bus will be operational from Manali to Rohtang daily. Himachal is now the first hilly state and also one of the first operators in India to start operations with electric buses. These Zero Emission buses Himatarang are latest addition to the fleet of HRTC.
The HRTC had conducted multiple test rides of these Electric Buses for Rohtang route since October 2016. After the successful test rides, the bus was formally flagged off by G.S. bali, Transport Minister of Himachal Pradesh Govt on 21st September earlier this year. The step to start electric buses on this route was taken after the NGT restricted the number of vehicles going to Rohtang citing the increase in pollution particles due to vehicular traffic.
This bus service will be a huge relief to the commuters especially tourists visiting Rohtang Pass. The tourists has to pay hefty charges to taxi operators for the ride to Rohtang otherwise. There will be more buses on this route during the tourist season.
These Goldstone buses were manufactured in Hyderabad with the technology of BYD, a worldwide renowned electric bus manufacturer. The buses will be serviced by the Goldstone company after every 1 lakh kms and spare parts will also be provided by the company itself.
According to HRTC the buses have a good pick-up even on steep slopes and overall it was a smooth ride up to Rohtang. Next batch of four such buses will be delivered to HRTC Kullu within a week. The buses will also run on Mandi-Kullu and Kullu-Manali routes soon.
The bus will leave for Rohtang on 8 am from Manali bus stand daily and will return back to Manali after a halt of 2 hours at Rohtang. The to and fro ride will cost Rs. 600 only for the commuters.
