Power outage at an electric vehicle charging station led passengers aboard a Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC)-run bus to wait longer than usual for the vehicle to get charged, and even sweat it out after the air conditioning did not work for that duration. 

The e-Garuda bus, which was recently pressed into service, was on its way from Vijayawada to Hyderabad on July 9, when it stopped near Suryapet around 11 p.m. for charging. According to a passenger on that bus, a power cut led to a longer-than-usual wait. “It was raining heavily and so, we had to sit inside. For some reason, the AC was not working. Later, when it started to work, it was leaking. It got really stuffy inside and was problematic for those who were sitting in rows at the end of the bus. We had to wait for an extra 20 minutes for the bus to be charged,” said a passenger who did not wish to be identified. 

TSRTC officials said electric buses plying that route halt for charging at a station that is not operated by the transport juggernaut. They said they are aware of the issue and described it as a “teething problem” that would be overcome soon. An officer underscored that the road gradient from Vijayawada to Hyderabad is higher and it was likely that batteries get discharged sooner. 

While the TSRTC has 10 e-Garuda buses, eight have been pressed into service and two are on stand-by. 

When contacted, TSRTC regional manager (Rangareddy) A.Sridhar said that work is under way at the Suryapet bus stand to have charging stations dedicated for the State-run buses. “Our managing director is forward-thinking. We will have five charging stations there. They will be ready in about a month-and-a-half. Once ready, such problems will not arise. The charging stations will be of 180kW. These are much better than the 90kW charging stations,” he said, adding that the approximate cost of the project is ₹2.5 crore.