Tata motors handed over its new prototype chassis, which is BS-6-ready, to the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) on Wednesday, August 4. The transfer was free of cost. The body of the bus will be built at the KSRTC regional workshop in Kengeri. KSRTC employs Tata, Ashok Leyland and Eicher motors for non-A/C services and Volvo, Mercedes-Benz and Scania for A/C services.
BS-6 or Bharat Stage 6 is the latest emission standard set by the government of India to regulate the amount of air pollutants released when combustion engines and spark-ignition engines operate. It came into effect on April 1, 2020. The Indian government decided to skip BS-5 to make the pollution norms, which are based on European regulations, stricter to control the release of Sulphur and other pollutants from being released to the environment.
It is for the first time a BS-6 compliant chassis is introduced in public transport in south India. The tentative cost of the chassis is around Rs 27 lakhs. The move will be followed by a study to evaluate the performance of the new engine. Ideally, it is expected to be more fuel efficient than the previous BS-4 variant. The engine is a five-litre one with four cylinders and 180Hp and has a wheelbase of 224 inches.
Ajay Gupta, government business of Tata Motors, handed over the chassis papers to Shivayogi C Kalasad IAS, Managing Director of KSRTC. P Venkatesh IAS (Director, P&E), K Ramamurthy (chief mechanical engineer, maintenance), N K Basavaraju (chief mechanical engineer, production) and teams from Tata and Arvind motors were also present at the event.