Some 5,000 battery-electric buses are set to be deployed across India after Switch Mobility announced a collaboration with Chalo, one of the country’s leading transport technology companies.
The recently launched EiV 12 will form part of the supply agreement. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed for a period of three years and will see the buses deployed across the cities where Chalo operates.
Under this partnership, which represents one of the largest commitments for battery-electric buses in the world, Chalo will deploy its consumer technology solutions. That includes the Chalo App and Chalo contactless tap-to-pay travel card, which provide live bus tracking, digital tickets, and travel plans, and determine routes, frequency, schedules, and fares.
According to Andy Palmer, CEO of Switch Mobility, the MoU with Chalo establishes Switch as “one of the pre-eminent manufacturers” of zero-emission buses globally.
“Our engineering expertise across the UK, Europe and India and new product range across all three of our key markets leaves us well positioned to continue to grow our order bank and meet the challenges authorities and operators face in decarbonizing their bus network,” he adds.
Also says Mahesh Babu, Switch COO and CEO of Switch Mobility India: “The changing mobility landscape in India is significantly altering the way people travel within cities.
“Given our vision to accelerate the adoption of clean, sustainable electric transportation solutions, we are delighted to partner with Chalo for a first-of-its-kind partnership in this space. We aim to transform the urban mobility in the country by leveraging Chalo’s strong customer connect and operational expertise along with our technologically advanced electric vehicle products.
“This significant partnership of 5,000 electric buses will certainly open up access to affordable, comfortable, hassle-free and environmentally friendly transport solutions, while enhancing the overall customer experience.”
Adds Mohit Dubey, co-founder and CEO of Chalo: “Buses make up for 48% of India’s daily travel, and yet we have just three buses for every 10,000 people.
“Growing bus fleets and providing high-quality buses is key to achieving Chalo’s purpose of making travel better for everyone. Last year we finalised a project to add 1,000 new buses in three of our cities. Today, we are glad to partner with Switch on a scale that is five times larger.
“The travel experience in these buses will be at par with global cities like Hong Kong and Singapore. We are confident that this collaboration will propel our collective journey towards building sustainable cities.”
