Nanjing-Santiago, October 01, 2018 – In a ceremony held in the city of Nanjing, China, in which José Luis Domínguez, the Undersecretary of Transportation; Simone Tripepi, the Enel X South America Manager; Karla Zapata, the Enel X Chile Manager; and Tamara Berríos, the BYD Chile Country Manager, participated, the first 60 electric buses were presented, which were manufactured in China, and which will be incorporated into Santiago's public transport system in December.
In total, there will be 100 electric vehicles of the Chinese brand BYD, those that were acquired by Enel X and will be operated permanently by the Metbus Company on its Route # 516, using the announced Avenida Grecia electric bus lane.
"The arrival of these 100 buses is concrete proof of our commitment to the decontamination of cities, in this case Santiago, and to the effective improvement of the service experience for users. Electromobility is a reality in Chile and this is only the first step on the path towards efficient transport and zero emissions," said Karla Zapata, Enel X Chile Manager.
The electric buses will arrive in Chile in November and will start operations in the first weeks of December. They have no impact in terms of polluting emissions and also constitute a cheaper alternative in terms of operation, which reaches 70% less as compared to conventional diesel buses. The cost per kilometer is 70 pesos for electric buses, while the cost of a traditional bus is 300 pesos per kilometer.
Another relevant advantage for users is the low noise level, both inside the bus and in the street, being friendly for transit in highly populated areas.
For the manufacture of the new buses, the experience of the users and passengers of the first 2 electric buses, which arrived in 2017, was taken into consideration, operated by Metbus on the Route #516, improving a series of elements corresponding to the equipment of the new vehicles to strengthen their safety features.
"Chile has taken a giant step to include zero emission technologies in public transport in Santiago, and as BYD we are proud to have been part of this process. This great effort has been the result of our strong partnership with Enel and Metbus, both key members of this pioneering feat in the installation of electromobility in the continent," said Tamara Berríos, BYD Chile’s Country Manager.
This important step, and the model used to make the arrival of the first 100 electric buses viable, positions Chile as a benchmark in terms of electromobility in Latin America, a formula that could be replicated in other countries.
The users’ experience
In November 2017, the first two electric buses were formally incorporated into Transantiago, which were acquired by Enel and operated by Metbus, in a pioneering alliance in the country.
According to evaluations carried out in the field, the most outstanding features valued by users are the air conditioning and the lower noise generated by the buses. This has also been reflected in the passengers care of vehicles, as there have only been isolated cases of minor scratches. On the other hand, putting them into circulation has helped to reduce the passengers' evasion of paying for their ticket, which shows that it is an advance in the country's transport system.