West Bengal has a history to be associated with electrification of transportation systems. Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal, introduced public transportation system running on electricity in 1902 and has also been the first to introduce electric buses for public transport in the city. The introduction of electric mobility represents a unique opportunity to leverage the electricity infrastructure for accelerated and cost-effective mobility deployment.

TERI carried out this study to develop strategies to achieve net zero transportation in the city that would support the Transport and the power department of West Bengal to assess innovative and efficient models for the procurement to deploy advanced fleet systems in the city.

The study brings out the feasible locations for setting up of charging stations throughout the city of Kolkata through the assessment of the existing fleets, routes and carrying out a vehicle density survey in and around the city.

Further, the study analyses the energy demand, power requirement, site suitability of Charging infrastructure for e-2 Wheeler and e-4 Wheeler, and battery swapping stations for e-3 Wheeler. Also, the renewable energy (specifically solar) potential for generation of electricity, along with the decarbonization roadmap for public transport is presented in this report.

Public fleet Decarbonization strategy for Kolkata was also prepared as part of this study outlining a deployment schedule of various public transport options till 2050. The roadmap also identifies the potential impact on air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions in the city because of electrifying public transportation systems, as well as opportunities for integrating renewable power with these systems. In addition, the roadmap enables WBTC to identify potential funding sources and revenue streams to facilitate fleet electrification and associated infrastructure upgrades.