[vigsom]

Introduction

This is a review of my journeys by two intercity electric buses

a) manufactured by Mytrah Mobility operated by GreenCell Mobility under the name of Nuego and,

b) manufactured by Olectra Greentech operated by EveyTrans under the KSRTC banner

What's in store ?

1. Travel experiences including highlights and lowlights
2. Other small yet significant details in both these buses
3. Comparisons on travel | E-Buses vs IC engine buses

[vigsom]

Why the urge to try an E-Bus and how I got the opportunity?

My travel across the country, especially South and West India, has gone up exponentially in the last two years or so - and I use all modes of transport in the process. On one trip, I found that Nuego was operating a service from Trichy to Bengaluru and hence decided to see what this E-Bus experience was all about. Just about then, I found fellow bhpian DigitalOne's review of Nuego (NueGo Electric Bus Service Review | Bengaluru to Chennai) and decided to try it out. @DigitalOne had forewarned of a possible long charging stop, but I decided to try the service out nevertheless. Opportunities to try alternate modes of travel should be explored without procrastinating. Who knows when one would get the next chance!

Booking Experience

Nuego's website is straightforward, but the fares aren't . They fluctuate wildly and it is left to one's smartness to book one's ticket and the right price point. The fares are weird

a. first row is, say, INR 450 (sitting ducks?)
b. rows 2,3,4 approx. INR 550
c. rows 5,6,7 approx. INR 520
d. rows 8,9,10 approx. INR 400

The lowest fare would remain steady till departure of the bus but the others would go up or down wildly based on, say, number of hits or rate at which seats are being gobbled up. I found my seat being offered for a high of 620 and a low of 450, for a bus in which only approx 15 seats were booked.

GST Levy

I have travelled airconditioned buses aplenty and have always paid 5% GST, but Nuego is the only service where I've been charged 12%. Why?

[vigsom]

D-Day and the ride

I reached the point of origin and found the bus without fuss. However, for first timers, there is likely to be some confusion resulting in calls to the crew. Instead of vaguely mentioning the boarding point as near X Hotel, they should clearly mention it as opp. X hotel, outside the SETC Bus Stand etc. Anyways, on a hot afternoon, the bus was extremely cool even with the aircon off, and when the motor was started for the AC, there was barely any noise.

Departure was on time, and in a short while, we'd exited the city onto the road to Salem. Ride quality was brilliant, aircon was tops, and the ottoman seats made by Harita were quite impressive. The talking point about these seats is the overall leatherette finish and the steep recline angle.

Cockpit- the polycarbonate on the instrument cluster is already bearing the brunt of UV radiation


View of the road from inside




Seats


Seat Recline - am sure this superior recline angle with the ottoman would translate into a blissful sleeping experience during night journeys


A small bottle of water is given to every passenger - more available later if needed

[vigsom]

Likes

1. Superior Acceleration
2. Almost silent ride except for some minor road noise
3. Excellent Ride quality
4. Powerful Airconditioning
5. Crew demeanour - one used to work for another big bus operator and the other gentleman used to be a trucker

Dislikes

1. Ultra long charging stop
2. Too many nuisance audio alarms - pedestrian warning, unsafe following distance, driver distraction, lane departure warning, collision warning rendering them equivalent to "Cry Wolf"

All went well till the rest stop

It was a fantastic journey till the rest-cum-charging stop. The ride to Salem was done in less than 3 hours, and we were in Aasai Aasai Ananda Bhavan Delight at Omalur bypass in about 3hrs 25mins. Fantastic ride this far, and we were then given the first shocker - stop for charging and meals would be 1 hour . Since I had a lot of time on hand, I went next door to this place which is a quaint eatery, had 2 dal vadas and a cup of black coffee, all for a mere 22 bucks, and waited for the charging to get over. The charging stop finally came to an end in 1hr 15mins which, in my view, is unacceptable time. There was some power outage which resulted in charging getting interrupted. If uninterrupted power supply cannot be assured, electric bus patronage would gradually slip away!

Safety at the charging stop

1. Rubber mats placed at the charger
2. Fire extinguishers available and visible
3. Attendant was putting on a reflective jacket and was in safety shoes

DOs and DONTs board displayed, but nobody heeded them; I found folks gathered at the charging point when the charging was taking too long; this should be curtailed. I had an urge to go and check the charging station, but stayed away as I'd be treated as a trespasser. Also, I'd opine that passengers should be off the bus during charging stops for safety reasons.


The refreshment-cum-charging point


Parked at the charging station with the twin charger plugged in


Charging station




Views of the coach






Excellent warm white lighting in the bus


The following video was captured on the difficult uphill ride at the Thoppur ghat - this should give an idea of how effortlessly the bus pulled despite not being pushed too hard. Those nuisance warnings are also audible in the clip.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbuK-BWHw9c

Despite an 8hr 30mins ride (including the long 1hr 15min rest cum charging stop and an approx 20min delay due to traffic congestion before the E-City toll), I arrived at my destination fresh, and the crew was considerate to drop passengers off on the left side of the road at Silk Board. Other buses would drop people off at the foot of the bridge and then they'd have to cross dangerously via incoming traffic onto the service road. I loved the crew, their driving skills, demeanour, and the overall ride.

[vigsom]

Ride#2 - KSRTC EV PowerPlus

This opportunity came just two days thereafter when I had to travel on work. Rather than call a company car to travel 350km, pick me up and again take me there, I decided to do half the distance to Chitradurga by a KSRTC Volvo/EV, and have the company car pick me up from Chitradurga. Here came an opportunity to ride the KSRTC EV Power Plus. Fresh from the journey by the Nuego, I looked forward to some interesting comparisons.

The cockpit


View of the front from inside




Seats - no Ottoman


Seat recline


Cabin view


Views of the coach - looks stunning






View from inside while riding the bus - note the rear camera always on




After my ride, I also got to read fellow bhpian dailydriver's experience on a KSRTC EV PowerPlus (Intercity Bus travel reviews)

[vigsom]

Having now experienced two EVs, here are some comparisons - Nuego E-Bus vs KSRTC EV Power Plus - both were early 2023 manufactured

• Nuego - Mytrah Mobility MY12ACX4
• KSRTC EV Power Plus - Olectra Greentech EBuzz C9

Non-pictorial comparisons

1. Warning signals - too many nuisance warnings on the Mytrah eg. pedestrian warning, unsafe following distance, driver distraction, lane departure warning, collision warning; none on the Olectra
2. Acceleration - Mytrah 10/10 vs Olectra 10/10
3. Ride quality - Mytrah 9/10 vs Olectra 6/10 (too much of up and down movements on the Olectra)
4. Airconditioning - Mytrah 10/10 vs Olectra 9/10
5. Road noise - Mytrah 9/10 vs Olectra 7/10
6. Crew uniform - KSRTC's crew are probably as well turned out as some pilots
7. Crew demeanour - very courteous on both services

Pictorial Comparison - Nuego first and KSRTC EV next

1. Name plates - the Mytrah name plate had enough details professioannly punched while KSRTC Olectra name plate markings were like how we'd mark names on vessels; also didn't have details on Ah and KW




2. Console View - the Olectra console was better readable with a better angle but the dashboard seemed more worn out




adding to the mix is the cockpit in an Eicher 6016


3. View of the front from inside - both offered a nice view




4. Tyres - the Nuego clearly had better tyres - Michelin which caused almost zero noise against the KSRTC's CEAT Winenergy which were mighty noisy. Both were Volvo B11R sized 295/80R22.5




5. Cabin views - both were pleasing with similar coloured seats and curtains




6. Seats - here Nuego's were way better




7. Seat recline - Nuego was better




8. Exterior looks - KSRTC was the better looking of the two

[vigsom]

Another ride by a KSRTC Airavat Club Class to compare, contrast

Having ridden in these two EVs, I rode an Airavat Club Class Volvo B9R just to feel the difference, and it was clearly evident that the EV Power Plus was no match for the Airavat, in terms of ride or in terms of top speed.

Summing it up

If the head honchos at Greencell Mobility are seeing this post, I'd request them to act on the following:

1. quicken charging stops and make them no longer than 45 mins else they'd lose the plot
2. it might make sense to have a charged bus ready at the station, transfer folks from the arriving bus to the ready to move bus, and charge the arriving bus to be ready to pick up passengers from the next bus. This way, wait times at charging stops can be eliminated
2. fix bugs in the reservation system - bookings from Nuego and other aggregators are allowed even at departure time of the bus and as a result, their names don't appear on the charts and they get left behind; I saw two such cases - one at Trichy and one at Salem bypass

What I also foresee is the batteries losing State of Charge faster as time goes by and this might result in unforeseen breakdowns enroute, and that might be the last nail! Until passengers' concerns and pains around E-buses are addressed, for an average passenger like me, I'll still go the IC engine way unless, of course, it is a short 250km ride. Signing off with some pics from my recent ride in a 11 year old fantastically maintained Volvo B9R.

At the designated stop Shree Rathnam Dobbaspet


Enroute Dobbaspet to Sira


My experience with all KSRTC crew thus far - all smiles!

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[cdrajeevkumar]

Thanks Vigsom for your insightful travelogue (I prefer to call this a travelogue) I have always shunned EV's and relied on legacy ICE vehicles. Perhaps after your detailed documentary, it is time to make that "shift".

Hopefully, in the near future, I can see this happening!

Look forward to your next "travelogue".

[PreludeSH]

Thanks for the comparison. Travelled by Olectra from Mysuru on a Sunday with every bus full. The EV buses arrive in Mysuru and go directly to the charging port. People had queued up at the door while it was charging.

The travel was very good, comfortable and noise is not a differentiator since the Volvos are also equally silent or noisy due to AC noise in both.

As long as people dont have to wait for charging anywhere and have to spend the same time as diesel powered ones, its as good as any bus for the passengers. But good for the environment.

[shyampsunder]

Thanks for sharing this.

The Omalur stop where you stopped for a charging break is where we stop to charge our car as well when we travel from Bangalore to Coimbatore on the ABB charger in front of the restaurant.

Hardly a year ago this restaurant used to see very less patronage, this charging stop for buses have completely changed the fortunes of this place. High quality restaurants with good infrastructure are going to be major beneficiaries of this electric transition in my opinion.

It's very safe to stay inside the car/bus while it charges because the passenger has no contact with the ground. In fact when the bus is moving as well it charges using regenerative breaking. In the ZS EV, I have seen regeneration producing up to 60 kW of energy while slowing down from high speeds equivalent to a DC fast charger.

I wish these companies continue to run the air con and let the passengers sit inside the bus while it is being charged. It's a major passenger experience turn off otherwise.

[Vikram9193]

I had an awful experience! I’ve done two trips on the Neugo electric bus, Dehradun-Delhi and back. The bus wasn’t particularly clean, the horn noise was too audible inside, and on the Delhi-Dehradun run it is unable to complete the journey in one charge, apparently because in Delhi they have multiple pick up points and have to keep the AC on while standing and waiting. The worst thing was that their bespoke charging station at the midway point hadn’t been working for a while when we reached, because of a power cut. There was no fuel for the generator. And there were three buses in the charging queue before us. We finally got charged and moving after an hour and a half. This stop has two public chargers but they didn’t use those either. Disappointing really, because otherwise these electric buses run smoothly and well.

[sjain2054]

Loved going through this EV bus review!!

If I had the option, I would totally choose EV bus travel over ICE bus. I like to experience new tech and encourage new tech. I do not take some inconveniences to heart but do make a note of them. I have traveled on so many ICE buses throughout my life where buses have broken down and I have had to wait more than 3-4 hours for a solution. So the 1hr waiting time for charging at well equipped stop is totally fine by me.

I have a random idea. I do not know how feasible it will be but I will voice it out here nonetheless -

For a 500km or more journey, how about keeping two buses. One bus for the first 300-400kms and the second fully charged bus waiting for the passengers at the charging stop for the other 300-400kms.

Disadvantages -
1. The economics of it - Will the transport company invest in two buses? Will it pay off in the long run? I am guessing not.
2. Will passengers be ok to move to the next bus? (move their luggage etc).

Advantages -
1. Zero wait time for passengers. 15-20 mins for moving luggage and a quick toilet and tea break
2. An extra bus for managing breakdowns
3. More frequent EV buses on same route

Ya..I was just thinking out loud with a random idea. It may not be worth it. The transport company might as well just run an ICE bus on the route then. HAHA!

[ex-innova-guy]

Originally Posted by sjain2054

I have a random idea. I do not know how feasible it will be but I will voice it out here nonetheless - For a 500km or more journey, how about keeping two buses.

Not a bad idea at all, but vigsom already shared that idea/feedback in this very review. I think you missed reading that part.

[SuperGirl_Dad]

Originally Posted by vigsom

2. it might make sense to have a charged bus ready at the station, transfer folks from the arriving bus to the ready to move bus, and charge the arriving bus to be ready to pick up passengers from the next bus. This way, wait times at charging stops can be eliminated

Originally Posted by sjain2054

I have a random idea. I do not know how feasible it will be but I will voice it out here nonetheless -

For a 500km or more journey, how about keeping two buses. One bus for the first 300-400kms and the second fully charged bus waiting for the passengers at the charging stop for the other 300-400kms.

Disadvantages -
1. The economics of it - Will the transport company invest in two buses? Will it pay off in the long run? I am guessing not.
2. Will passengers be ok to move to the next bus? (move their luggage etc).

Not really feasible for 2 busses on 500+ km journeys. Dont ask how i know - Many a times busses running on these 500+ km journeys carry a lot of cargo (commercial) apart from passengers. See the number of busses running carrying loads on top of the bus even though passengers bags go on the under storage. The cargoes are mostly plaintain leafs and vegetables for hotels - this is a constant source of income irrespective of the number of seats filled. Atleast thats what I've seen on bussess running from Chennai to the southern cities (Madurai, Tuticorin and Tirunelveli).