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When Ramram Mishra first got behind the wheel of a diesel bus nearly three decades ago, long hours, engine heat and physically demanding drives were part of the job. Today, the 48-year-old Comprehensive Region Urban Transport (CRUT) driver says switching to an electric bus (e-bus) has transformed his work life.
The Odisha government introduced its first fleet of e-buses in July 2022 under its flagship (then) Mo Bus public transport system, managed by CRUT. The rollout was part of the Odisha Electric Vehicle (EV) Policy, 2021, which targeted electrifying at least 50 per cent of all new stage carriages procured for city bus services within five years. The electrification of buses to date is 20 per cent, a state transport department official told Down To Earth (DTE), adding that the revised state EV policy which will be out soon will aim to electrify 50 per cent buses by 2029, 70 per cent by 2036 and 80 per cent by 2047.
The current EV policy, which met its tenure by December 2025, provides purchase incentives for e-buses, offering 10 per cent of the ex-showroom price or Rs 2 lakh, whichever is lower, for non air-conditioned buses, and up to Rs 4 lakh for premium air-conditioned buses. Based on four-year data in a government notification on December 31, 2025, buses constitute only 0.19 per cent of the total 2,622,089 vehicles.
However, the government official at the state Commerce and Transport Department cited above told DTE that the incentive is modest considering e-bus cost of around Rs 1.5 crore to Rs 1.8 crore each. The official attributed Odisha's progress largely to government procurement, adding that all AMA e-buses are state operated and no private bus operator in the state has electrified its fleet so far.
Mishra spent about 18 years driving CRUT diesel buses before switching to an e-bus a couple of years ago, when Odisha began expanding its electric public transport fleet. For him, the transition was also a necessity. Having developed an issue with his left leg after three decades behind the wheel, he found it increasingly difficult to operate conventional buses that require continuous use of the clutch pedal.
"E-buses are gearless. So, my left leg can rest," Mishra told DTE, adding, "Unlike conventional buses, e-buses are air conditioned; there's no scope of dirt and dust entering the vehicle. It's smokeless and there's no noise. An e-bus is far better than a traditional diesel bus or truck."
"When I was driving traditional buses, I often had to take off my shirt, I was drenched in sweat because it's a coastal region, it's too humid and the engine heats up so much that it becomes difficult to drive for long, and those long trips (400-500 kms) became unbearable," added Mishra, who now drives an AMA (formerly Mo) bus on Route 37 connecting Baramunda Inter State Bus Terminal (ISBT) in Bhubaneswar to Naraj Railway Station in Cuttack via Trisulia Square and OMFED.
Launched as Mo Bus in 2018, the public transport service won a United Nations award in 2022 for its sustainable mobility initiatives, integrated e-buses into its fleet and was rebranded as AMA Bus in February 2025 by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government.
According to the above government official, Odisha has already electrified 80-90 per cent of the AMA Bus fleet and placed orders for another 450 e-buses. The official said the government's decision to absorb the higher cost of electric buses has strengthened public confidence in the programme.
"These are state-run buses and the state is taking the burden and that has transmitted into very good optics. So, people are very much appreciative of that initiative," the official added.
According to the state government's Odisha Review published in November 2025, the state had 450 electric buses on the road by August 2025, making it the fifth-largest adopter of e-buses in India. Currently, CRUT operates e-buses in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and Puri, with plans to expand services to Sambalpur, Jharsuguda, Keonjhar, Berhampur and Angul, taking the fleet to more than 1,000 buses in the coming years.
According to Mishra, the transition has also improved working conditions. "It's an 8-hour-long duty, the route is fixed, no long drives, it's cut-to-cut, and it's a matter of up to 180 kms. One single charge and your shift is covered."
"I can rest while the vehicle gets charged compared to a traditional bus for which I had to fetch a fuel station. Once the bus is out of depot, our shifts begin. What happens with the bus in between doesn't weigh on our shift time," Mishra replied with a smirk when asked about range anxiety, whether charging time is deducted from drivers' working hours and if the vehicle requires charging during service. "In short, it's better and comfortable."
The expansion of the fleet has been accompanied by charging infrastructure. NBS Rajput, principal secretary, Commerce and Transport Department, told DTE that Odisha has tied up with private partners to set up 100 public EV charging stations under the public private partnership (PPP) model across municipal areas.
"Another 18 charging facilities are being developed at the block level through the Atal Bus Stand Scheme, while future government vehicle procurement will be limited to EVs," Rajput added.
For 32-year-old Dharmanand Polley, the move to e-buses was driven as much by family circumstances as by better working conditions. Having spent 12 years driving freight trucks across the country and overnight passenger vehicles, he joined AMA Bus about a week ago to stay closer to home.
"Due to my mother's deteriorating health over the past six months, staying away from home was no longer an option," Polley told DTE.
Echoing Mishra, Polley said, "Driving e-buses are comfortable, it provides relief from heat and there is no smoke, no noise. Additionally, I no longer have to keep travelling across India, worrying about time and hours. In a 24-hour-shift outstation before, I could take a break after a stretch of 300-400 kms. Now, I don't have to drive for even 200 kms in an 8-hour-shift."
Trilochan Guru, 28, is also relieved after switching from trucks to an AMA e-bus two years ago. He told DTE that while transporting commodities such as iron ore, coal and agricultural produce for five to six years, he regularly experienced eye irritation and headaches from smoke, dust and heat. Long waiting hours during loading and limited access to food added to the hardship.
Guru now prefers either the morning or afternoon shift, allowing him to return home by evening.
"I have to drive for about 90-100 kms in each shift, and a single charge covers about 100-120 km," he adds. "I wasn't allowed to rest before when traditional trucks were getting loaded with commodities."
Dibakar Behera, a 36-year-old former truck driver, switched to Odisha's AMA e-buses after visiting the transport office to renew his driving licence.
"I gave up my truck driving license two months ago instead of renewing it because of some complexities. A friend then told me about e-buses, and it sounded lucrative to me. It's air conditioned and I don't have to go out of the city."
While drivers largely praise the transition, charging reliability remains a concern. Aanchal Pandey, conductor on Behera's bus, said Odisha's cyclone-prone weather leads to frequent power outages, including in Bhubaneswar.
She estimated outages occur three to four times a month, but added that the presence of at least three to four charging depots ensures authorities can maintain power supply at one of the facilities to keep buses operational.
A CRUT official told DTE that the agency has developed charging infrastructure across multiple depots to support uninterrupted operations. Naraj depot can accommodate 200 buses, Patrapada 125, Gadakana 100, Pokhariput 150 and Chandrasekharpur around 30 buses, with most of the facilities dedicated to e-buses. Dedicated charging stations for e-rickshaws have also been established across the depots.
The state's electric mobility push is also extending to supporting infrastructure, according to the state transport department official, Odisha is developing 318 Atal Bus Stands (ABS) at the block level to complement the Mukhyamantri Bus Seva. Nearly 96 have been commissioned, around 100 are under construction and about 80 are at the tendering stage. Following a recent Cabinet decision to include nine urban bus stands under the programme, the total number of ABS has increased to 327.
While urban electric mobility has expanded rapidly, rural public transport is yet to make the transition. Rajput said the Odisha State Road Transport Corporation, the state owned undertaking responsible for intercity and rural bus services, has floated tenders to induct 100 e-buses into its fleet.
However, buses operating under the Mukhyamantri Bus Seva are running on 12 year Gross Cost Contract agreements that began in 2024, making immediate electrification difficult, he added.