After taking delivery of 17 new vehicles this week, with a cost of 5.92 million euro, half of the buses operating through the Elche municipality are noy hybrid vehicles.
Of the current fleet of 59 buses, 28 of them will be hybrids. The new buses will be gradually incorporated on all lines. Collaterally, this also means lowering the average age of the fleet, since another 17 current ones will retire, leaving the average age of the fleet at 6 years.
For her part, the Councillor for Mobility, Esther Díez, recalled that in the spring of 2023 the first 8 electric buses that have been commissioned thanks to Next Generation European funds will enter service. So that with its entry more than half of the fleet will be non-polluting or with a notable reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. With the 28 hybrids, Díez points out that “882 fewer tons of carbon dioxide will be emitted per year”, emphasising that “we continue with our commitment to a healthy and green city with this public transport used by 12 million passengers a year. We maintain our fleet renewal commitment undertaken in spring 2019”. In this regard, Mayor Carlos González added that “a total of 10 million euro have been invested with the purchase of hybrid buses”.
On the other hand, the City Council has recently submitted a second call for mobility from the Next Generation funds, with which it hopes to be able to acquire 6 new electric vehicles that would arrive in 2024 if the proposal is accepted. What will arrive next spring thanks to the first European call is the digitisation of the service, which will mean paying for the bus with a mobile phone or card, and the electrification of the bus station.
