Chile gave another great demonstration of why it is the country with the largest fleet of electric buses outside China, with the incorporation of a fleet of 10 units with high technological standards manufactured by BYD.
The great novelty of the vehicles is that they have two floors and will be available from October in the public transport network in the city of Santiago.
It is worth mentioning that together with the double-decker electric buses, 146 single-decker electric buses have also arrived, to reach a total of 2,000 units, with a projection to close 2024 with around 2,400 units.
Features
These vehicles have security cameras, air conditioning, universal accessibility, USB ports and wifi. They will be operated by Metbus and the route they will follow is still under evaluation. A pilot test of double-decker buses was already done in 2017, but they used fuel. Today they will be fully electric.
Read also: BYD Chile Joins “My Electric Taxi” Program
They are 12 meters long and 2.55 meters wide, with two passenger doors. The electrified buses have a total capacity of 97 passengers, with 70 seats.
Another important detail is recharging, which takes only 1.5 to 2 hours, thus overcoming one of the great difficulties experienced by electric mobility, especially in the transportation sector.
During the presentation of the buses, Juan Carlos Muñoz, Chile’s Minister of Transport, described the event as unprecedented in the continent. “You are not going to find double-decker buses, but in other cities such as London or Hong Kong,” he said.
He stated that the aim is to place Santiago at the forefront of urban public transport mobility.
Mobility Hub
As one of the key players in the region in building the largest sustainable community in Latin America, Latam Mobility is coming to Chile on August 27 and 28 as part of the Mobility and Sustainability Tour 2023.
The meeting will bring together leading personalities from the public sector and private companies, with the objective of offering their perspectives and a snapshot of the current sustainable mobility landscape in Latin America.
For information on participation and ticket purchase, please click here
