According to data provided by the city’s mayor’s office, it is estimated that Bogotá’s public transportation system is used by more than 30 thousand people per day. This significant figure will count from this week on with 172 new 100% electric buses after an agreement between Transmilenio, Busscar, BYD and Enel X.
The 172 vehicles are a new addition to the 483 zero-emission vehicles already operating on the system. With this new fleet, the zonal component reaches 1,944 clean technology buses circulating in Bogota. It is worth mentioning that during 2022, 830 additional trucks will arrive to complete the 1,485 electrified buses in operation.
The buses are BYD brand, powered by electric motors with zero polluting emissions, and equipped with technological elements to improve the travel experience of citizens.
Equipment
Among the main features are noise reduction, Wi-Fi access, USB ports for charging cell phones, screens and sound information about the route; GPS, loudspeakers and microphones to communicate directly with the control center; accessible platforms for people with disabilities; hill start/climb assistant; and fast energy recharging process.
The five new buses to start operating have a new generation of batteries, which have better energy density and less weight and volume per unit of energy, providing greater autonomy for the demands of public transportation.
A total of 83 standard buses with 80-passenger capacity and 89 vans with 50-passenger capacity will provide service on six routes. Of these, three were part of the provisional scheme, and were previously served by 89 vehicles which were withdrawn from circulation.
Freight Centers
The inclusion of the buses in Bogotá does not happen as an isolated event, so the alliance of companies has thought about all the key aspects of the operation.
In this case, Enel X was responsible for the charging infrastructure, which has 81 chargers, each with 150kW of power, which means that when two buses are connected, each receives 75 kilowatts (kW) of energy.
The estimated charging time for the electric buses is four hours and if the supply is done individually, it would take approximately two hours.
For the system’s construction, an investment of approximately 60 billion pesos was made in equipment, and an additional 15 billion pesos in infrastructure and networks.
Public-private Alliance
Lucio Rubio Díaz, General Manager of Enel in Colombia, pointed out that Bogotá has five 100% electric bus depots, with the capacity to operate around 650 vehicles, giving a new life to the capital city.
“We are proud to be partners in this project that integrates new technologies and sustainable solutions to transform Bogota into one of the main electric capitals of Latin America,” he added.
In that vein, the Mayor of Bogota, Claudia Lopez stated, “We want them to know that every time they see a green bus in the city, it is a clean, electric bus; and every time they see a yellow bus, it is a gasoline bus.”
She assured that by the end of 2022, the city will have the largest electric fleet and the largest clean mass public transportation system of any city in the world apart from China”.
Likewise, Álvaro José Rengifo, General Manager of Transmilenio, emphasized that the arrival of these new buses is necessary to complete the consolidation of the system and improve the service they are providing to users.
