Simone Tripepi, Enel Chile's E-Solutions Manager came to the port of San Antonio, excited by the imminent arrival of the gigantic cargo ship that brought the first two electric buses to the country that will soon join the Transantiago system. "What makes us happy is that we can finally say that it is a promise fulfilled. In a few days, these two buses will go to Santiago to begin their routes around the city," said Simone, while watching the revisions closely, after unloading the buses.
The arrival of these buses is a great step towards the modernization of the public transport service of our country, but it is not the first, since Enel has been working for several years to make this dream come true. In May 2016, together with the Municipality of Santiago and BYD, Enel inaugurated the first route of a 100% electric bus in the capital’s downtown area, which has since delivered free service to more than 15,000 people, including Santiago residents and tourists.
Orlando Meneses, also present at the time of arrival of the new buses to Chile, works as Innovation Director at Enel Distribución, and highlighted some of the characteristics of the recent arrivals: "these models, manufactured by the BYD company have Wi-Fi connection, air conditioning, cushioned seats, and a greater number of seats as compared to buses of the same sizes."
"Another important aspect is that these vehicles are subjected to strict safety tests, they also have surveillance cameras, isolated cabins for drivers, and comply with all the regulations required by Transantiago for their operation," said Orlando.
The buses, which have already been homologated by the Vehicle Control Center, have an autonomy of up to 250 kilometers after a full charge, for which Enel has installed four 80 KW electric lines capable of charging these buses from 0% to 100% in 3 hours at the start and end points of the routes.
Besides the characteristics of comfort for the users, substantially improving the quality of the service, electric transport has a series of positive characteristics for the environment, since it does not emit polluting gases, does not spill fuels or oils, it diminishes the noise levels in the streets, and is efficient in the use of energy.
Once these buses are operating on the Metbus company routes, the capital city will have the first real experience of electric transport in its public transport system, generating important progress towards a more modern, Smart and environmentally-friendly Santiago.