Amid concern over the environment degradation in the Rohtang pass area due to plying of diesel taxis, the Himachal Pradesh government has started electric bus service for the tourist spot.
With this initiative Himachal becomes first in the world to ply electric buses at an altitude of 13 thousand feet. These buses will ply on 51km eco fragile stretch between Manali and Rohtang.
With no company in India manufacturing battery operated buses, the state government took special initiative to import these buses. Presently, an order of 50 has been placed and these buses will ply in all important cities of Himachal Pradesh i.e. Shimla, Dharamshala, Palampur and other places.
Each electric bus has a capacity to carry 30 passengers and can cover 200 km with the fully charged batteries. The fare is yet to be fixed but it would be marginally higher than diesel buses.