The city council of the capital of Colombia, Bogotá, has opted to transform its fleet of buses into electric ones. A bet that has now been transformed into a new order for 596 units that will form the largest fleet of this type of model in the world outside of China.
With this acquisition granted to the Chinese manufacturer BYD, the Bogotá transport company, TransMilenio is committed to more sustainable mobility that, in addition to reducing emissions and operating expenses, will also serve to reactivate the economy since one of the requirements of the contest was that the buses were covered in the country. This will be done at the plant located in Cerritos, which will begin its work this summer, with the first deliveries that will take place in early 2022.
The Colombian capital will have the largest fleet of electric buses outside of China, overtaking Santiago de Chile, which has 776 100% electric buses in the region. A trend that is spreading little by little through the area and the cities of Medellín and Cali have 65 and 35 electric buses, respectively.
But this landmark of Bogotá has not had an easy road. In two orders, they have managed to exceed 1,000 ordered units. A situation that has had to overcome the management of the previous mayor, Enrique Peñalosa, who just at the end of his mandate called a renewal of the fleet mainly with diesel and gas models and that condemned the city to another 20 years of emissions and high expenses in fuel and maintenance.
The situation could be reversed with the strong pressure made by environmental groups and thousands of citizens who protested this stupid decision. It could finally be rejected to give a new course and definitively bet on electric models already with the new mayor, Claudia López Hernández.
For example, even though technology may offer a more sustainable alternative, many politicians are still not aware of its enormous potential and continue to renew municipal fleets with diesel vehicles. Something that Bogotá has shown us can and must be answered by citizens who must offer their opinion on the matter.