BENGALURU: Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy flagged off 10 air-conditioned electric BMTC ‘Vayu Vajra’ buses for services to Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) on Thursday, as part of its initiative to add 320 new electric buses under the Gross Cost Contract (GCC) model. Of these, 85 will serve the airport routes and 235 will be deployed for Vajra city services.
The event was held at KIA Terminal 2. The new buses will operate on 11 airport routes, connecting key parts of the city to KIA. These include HAL Main Gate, Banashankari TTMC, Art of Living Ashram, Kadugodi Bus Station, HSR Layout, Kempegowda Bus Station, Mysore Road Bus Station, Royal Meenakshi Mall, and Whitefield TTMC, covering important transit points such as Jayanagar, Shantinagar, Whitefield, ITPL, Koramangala, MG Road, Shivajinagar, Mekhri Circle, Vijayanagar, Yeshwanthpur, and Budigere.
The new 12-metre buses feature a 400-mm low floor, 283 kWh battery capacity, and can run up to 225 km a day. Each bus has a seating capacity of 35, with space for a wheelchair, high-back ergonomic seats, USB charging ports, vehicle tracking, CCTV cameras, panic buttons for women’s safety, fire detection, and suppression systems, and accessibility features such as kneeling mechanisms and ramps. BMTC has installed nine chargers with a combined 240 kW capacity at KIA’s P7 parking area as well.