Mumbai, Frankfurt and Rome show three ways to scale an electric bus fleet

BEST inducted 44 fully air-conditioned 12-metre electric buses on 3 November 2026, and they will run from Magathane Depot across five routes. The vehicles arrive through Evey Trans Maharashtra under a rental arrangement rather than an outright purchase. Evey holds a purchase order for 2,400 such buses, and this batch lifted its contribution to the BEST fleet from 50 to 94. BEST Committee Chairperson Trupti Vishwasrao attended the launch.

Mumbai adds 44 buses through a rental contract

For riders, the test is the timetable, not the badge. The effect depends on how the extra capacity is spread across the five corridors and how reliably the buses run at peak.

The engineering changes are incremental but measurable. BEST says battery weight fell 16% because the packs moved from the roof to the lower section of the bus. The vehicles use Combined Charging System, or CCS2, hardware that BEST says charges 58% faster than the previous system. Safety equipment includes anti-lock brakes, hydraulic power-assisted steering, CCTV, a vehicle tracking system and emergency panic buttons. Video analytics feed a command-and-control centre in Agara.

Forty-one of the 44 buses have a more spacious seating layout. BEST expects the extra capacity to cut waiting times on busy routes.

The larger pipeline sits under the PME Drive scheme. BEST has orders for 1,500 air-conditioned midi buses and another 2,400 12-metre buses, with 2,000 expected to be inducted under the scheme.

Frankfurt reaches 109 zero-emission buses

Frankfurt am Main now runs 109 zero-emission buses, 26% of its 418-vehicle fleet, after nine Ebusco battery-electric buses entered service with Transdev Rhein-Main on routes 56 and 71. The fleet splits into 77 battery-electric and 32 hydrogen fuel cell buses. The city crossed the 100-vehicle threshold during the 2026 timetable year.

Full conversion is now targeted for 2033, replacing an earlier 2030 deadline.

Cost is doing much of the persuading. An electric bus now costs about 40% less to operate than a comparable diesel bus, according to traffiQ managing director Tom Reinhold. Battery-electric buses in the fleet cover 250 to 300 kilometres per charge. Frankfurt's programme began in 2018 with five Solaris Urbino 12 electric buses and has since added Irizar articulated models, CaetanoBus vehicles and Ebusco buses. Ten more battery-electric solo buses are due in 2027 under operating package B, with another 39 planned for eastern Frankfurt in 2028.

Rome airport puts four electric apron buses into service

dnata will put four Cobus VEGA electric apron buses into service at Rome Fiumicino Airport by mid-November, electrive reported on 3 November 2026. The ground handler says it is the first to deploy the model. It says the buses carry more passengers than conventional airport buses and have redesigned doors for faster boarding.

The four vehicles will push the Fiumicino bus fleet beyond 40, of which 23 are already electric.

dnata has spent more than €30 million over the past three years on more than 550 new ground handling units across Rome Fiumicino, Milan Malpensa and Milan Linate. Those units include baggage tractors, conveyor belts, passenger stairs, aircraft loaders and pushback tractors, not just buses. More than 60% of the company's 1,000-plus motorised ground handling units at the three Italian airports are now electric. Where full electrification is not yet feasible, dnata is converting diesel equipment to hydrotreated vegetable oil.

The Italian operation is big enough for small fleet changes to register. dnata employs around 5,000 people in Italy and serves more than 60 airlines. Its three airports handle over 150,000 flights, 46 million passengers and nearly 18 million pieces of baggage a year.

Charging depots and cost math set the pace

Frankfurt charges part of its battery-electric bus fleet at the Heddernheim waste-to-energy plant, run by Frankfurter Entsorgungs- und Service and energy provider Mainova. The city plans an East depot on Flinschstraße in Seckbach, where minibus routes 25, 57, 81, 82, 83 and 85 will convert entirely to electric operation from December 2028. A West depot on Lorscher Straße will replace the existing Römerhof site with parking and charging for up to 200 battery-electric and hydrogen buses.

dnata says further electrification depends on charging infrastructure at airports, and that it is working with the airport operators.

Frankfurt has committed to a 2033 end date and a mixed fleet. dnata reports that more than 60% of its Italian equipment is now electric, with no target date given.

Frankfurt alone put a figure on charging capacity, planning a West depot for up to 200 buses. Frankfurt's 2033 target and Mumbai's expectation of 2,000 buses under PME Drive both rest on procurement and depot schedules that are not complete.