The first batch of 120 electric buses was already delivered to Bogotá, the capital of Colombia and the remaining 350 units will arrive during the first quarter of 2021.
On December 17, BYD announced the delivery of 470 pure electric buses to Bogota, the capital of Colombia. This is the country’s largest pure electric bus fleet, and also the largest bus fleet BYD has delivered in the Americas, which will effectively promote the already fast-growing electrified public transport systems in Colombia, Latin America and the entire Americas.
Also supporting the bus fleet is a charging station located in the Fontibon district of Bogota, which is equipped with 56 double-gun electric chargers with a power of 150KW. The construction of the charging station, the installation of the chargers and the power supply are handled by Codensa, a joint venture established by ENEL, an Italian power grid company and the Bogota Energy Group. When the buses and charging stations are officially put into operation, it is estimated that more than 400 job opportunities will be created for the local communities, including drivers, logistics and maintenance personnel.
Each bus takes 1.5 to 2.5 hours to fully charge, with a cruising range that exceeds 300 kilometers on a single charge.
The 120 buses include 12-meter and 9-meter models, with a passenger capacity of 80 and 50 people respectively. They take 1.5 to 2.5 hours to fully charge, with a cruising range that exceeds 300 kilometers on a single charge, which can easily meet the buses’ daily operating mileage of 260 kilometers. Compared with diesel buses, BYD’s pure electric bus fleet will save 12,500 tons of carbon dioxide and 2.5 tons of dust particles from being emitted every year.
In addition, each bus comes equipped with a driver safety cabin, TV, WIFI, security cameras, intelligent transport system, mobile phone charging USB interfaces, access platform for people with disabilities, and other people-centric features.
BYD eBus model chosen to operate in Bogotá
The new fleet of 470 electric buses is expected to enable 302.000 passengers to enjoy a zero-emission bus service.
With an estimated price around 300.000 euros, an electric bus costs roughly ten times more than an average electric car, but serves a lot more people and reduces much more emissions. Without a doubt, electric buses are the electric vehicles that currently offer the best ROI (Return of Investment).
Moreover, BYD eBuses have cobalt-free LFP batteries, which makes them even greener than most electric cars currently sold outside China.
I really think that governments should invest exclusively in public electric transportation before even thinking in subsidizing the purchase of electric cars for personal usage.
With enough political will, it should only take a year or two to make most of the buses operating in big cities completely electric and that would dramatically increase the quality of living for everybody.
If you’re curious, Claudia Nayibe López Hernández was elected mayor of Bogotá in October 2019. She is the first woman and as well the first openly homosexual person to be elected to this position. She was also the vice-presidential candidate in the 2018 presidential election for the Green Alliance party.
Choose your representatives wisely. It matters!
