Bus Depot 7 at Majestic—the chaotic heart of Bengaluru’s transport network—is buzzing. Amid shuffling engines, shouted instructions and lively tea stalls, the Tata Power EV charging station glows in one corner. 

At 6 p.m. on a Thursday in November, two e-buses are plugged in, charging before they head back into peak-hour traffic. Across the street, Rehan, who owns a snack shop, reaches for the switch and kills the power to his fridge. “Most days, if there are too many buses, the voltage drops. I can’t risk the fridge, I’ve already had it fixed twice,” he says. 

Next door, a tailor stops mid-stitch and turns off his sewing machines. “The needle jerks when the power dips,” he says. Another bus joins the two and, right on cue, the lights flicker. “It’s like they are taking away the current.” 

What Rehan and his neighbour describe as the loss of current is the grid at its limit. Every bus that plugs in pulls from the same 11kV lines meant for homes and corner shops. The system was never built for this kind of simultaneous load. Now, as the city’s e-bus fleet grows, every new charge feels less like a milestone and more like a warning. 

The Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) operates some 7,000 buses, and over 1,500 of them are electricTimes of IndiaAs BMTC fleet crosses 7k, one in five buses now electric. There are plans, complete with budgetary allocationsBangalore mirrorKarnataka Budget 2025-26: BMTC to get 9,000 electric buses, 1,000 diesel buses, to bring the number up to 9,000.

An ambitious target for one city, and part of an even bigger national project. India plans to put 50,000 electric buses on the road by 2030. The flagship PM E-Drive schemeThe Economic TimesGovt launches PM E-drive scheme to replace FAME, no subsidies for electric or hybrid cars, aimed at electrifying public and commercial transport and subsidising charging infrastructure, has set aside its largest allocation—Rs 10,900 crorePress Information BureauMajor Cities Accelerate e-Bus Adoption Under PM E-Drive over a two-year period until March 2026—for e-buses.