KATHMANDU, NEPAL: Himalayan Light Foundation (HLF) unveiled its new Electro-Bus at a workshop in Kathmandu today. Over the past few years, HLF has been working on developing three Electro-Bus prototypes and technical findings of the venture were presented and discussed at the workshop.

Presenting the findings, Adam Friedensohn, Coordinator of the Electro-Bus Programme said that the project aims to provide an alternative to mid-range transportation for various purposes. Although Kathmandu has more than 600 electric three-wheelers, there are no battery operated four wheelers in Kathmandu.

Originally, HLF had converted an old milk float from Britain into Electro-Bus I. Although the bus made it on to the streets of Kathmandu a few years ago, there were some technical problems with the motor.

The new version, Electro-Bus II uses a 72 or 80 volt AC system and is equipped with shiftable gears. The vehicle can carry a payload of 1500 kg and can travel at a speed of 50 km per hour on flat terrain.

EV expert, Markus Eisenring, who assisted in developing the vehicle said that the bus is in good running condition but it needs some further tests under loaded condition. He further said that the project has proved that local manufacturing of 4-wheeler vehicles is possible and that these vehicles can replace many old diesel vehicles in Kathmandu.

EV entrepreneur, Dhruva Narayan Manandhar, said that he was interested in trying out the new vehicles on public transportation routes.

After the workshop, participants who took a quick tour on the bus agreed that the ride was smooth and the vehicle had no problems keeping up with Kathmandu's traffic.

The official inauguration of the bus is scheduled for some time next week. For more information please contact HLF at info@hlf.org.np

Source: Clean Air Nepal