Enel X, along with the Municipality of Concepción and the Ministry of Transport, inaugurate the first electric bus route in the Biobío Región

Published on Monday, 27 August 2018

  • The B&D brand electric bus shall circulate through Concepción, having no impact in terms of polluting emissions. It also constitutes a more economical alternative with regard to its operation, with a 70% pollution reduction with respect to conventional diesel fuel buses.  Its cost per kilometer is CLP70, versus CLP300, which is the cost per kilometer for a diesel bus.
  • The company is already actively operating in the Biobío Region, through Enel’s first business office installed in Concepción.

 

Concepción, August 27th, 2018 – The promotion of electric mobility throughout Chile is one of the objectives of Enel X, the new Enel business line, for which purpose, it inaugurated, along with the Municipality of Concepción, the Ministry of Transport, and the Seremi of Energy, the first 100% electric-powered bus route in the regional capital of Concepción, on which Concepción residents will be able to  experience riding in an environmentally-friendly bus with non-polluting technology.

The activity that took place in the Plaza de la Independencia, an emblematic historical landmark located in Concepción, was attended by the Minister of Transport, Gloria Hutt; the mayor of Concepción, Alvaro Ortiz; the governor of the Province of Concepción, Robert Contreras; the Seremi of Energy of the Biobío Region, Rodrigo Torres; the Seremi of Transportation of the Biobío Region, Jaime Aravena and Karla Zapata, CEO of Enel X Chile.

The B&D brand electric bus shall provide a free tour service for the city, which also includes air conditioning, Wi-Fi, and plugs for charging mobile devices. The route shall include passing by historical and emblematic sites in Concepción, starting from Plaza de la Independencia stopping later in Plaza España, Teatro Pencopolitano, Parque Ecuador, Universidad de Concepción, Museo de Historia Natural, and the Ester Roa stadium.

“We want to be part of the solution to problems such as decontamination of cities.  We have strongly promoted electric mobility in Chile, based upon clean energy and lower price in comparison with other fuels. Today we have made our experience and infrastructure available to the authorities in the Biobío Region towards the startup of the first electric-powered bus in Concepción, in order for the inhabitants of the regional capital to have the experience of riding in 100% clean and emissions-free means of transportation,” explained Karla Zapata, CEO of Enel X Chile.

"Concepción is the first regional city to have an electric-powered bus circulating through its streets, and undoubtedly, this will be of great benefit for its inhabitants, not only because, thanks to the agreement with Enel, it enables us to publicly put a more modern means of transportation into use, in accordance with our vision of promoting more efficient forms of mobility, but also because it shall be available for the use of the community of Concepción, with special routes for sites of special social, tourist, educational and environmental interest, through our municipal programs”, indicated the mayor of Concepción, Álvaro Ortiz.

“Likewise we are reinforcing our intention of creating an area of Innovation within our own municipal management. In fact, Concepción joins a necessary worldwide tendency, which is to have new forms of transportation, which we hope will expand," added the mayor.

This important contribution by Enel X to the quality of life of Concepción residents takes place together with the inauguration of the first public charging point for electric cars, not located in private dependencies, and which is already available for users in the city of Concepción, in Plaza España.

Enel X has become the main promoter of electric mobility in Chile, based upon 100% clean energy at a lower price as compared with other fuels, and which is also a real solution towards contributing to the decontamination of cities in the country.

Enel X expects to consolidate its presence in the Biobío Region.  With that in mind, it is using the “shared value” model, which enables delivering a supply of products and services that not only satisfies a commercial need for the customers, but also allows to provide a social and environmental benefit for the community.

100% electric-powered bus

The electric bus circulating through Concepción is a B&D make, which has no impact whatsoever regarding polluting emissions and also is a more economical alternative with respect to its operation.

Its operational costs are 70% lower with regard to those of conventional diesel buses, due to the reduction in oil and parts.  Moreover, the low cost per kilometer may be considered, reduced to CLP70, versus CLP300, which is the cost per kilometer for a diesel bus.

Another relevant advantage for the users is the low noise level, inside the bus as well as outside, being friendly with respect to highly populated transit areas.

The 70 KW charger is capable of charging the bus from 0% to 100% in 4 hours, and it is able to run 250 kilometers when fully charged.

Electric charger  network

In order for electric mobility to become a reality, the electric power infrastructure necessary to provide energy to these vehicles is required, which operates in fast or slow formats, public as well as private. Currently there are 27 recharging stations in Chile, 19 are operational in Santiago, 5 in Viña del Mar and Valparaiso, 1 in Concepción, and the remaining ones are in different areas of the country: eneldistribucion.cl/electrolineras.