The Metropolitan Area of Bucaramanga seeks to materialize the ‘pilot’ project so that mass transportation buses powered by electric energy circulate through this important road artery. Taxis are also part of the initiative.
In 2022, the World Bank carried out a technical, financial and legal study to analyze alternatives for the Metrolínea transportation system to improve its operation.
Among the results, the possibility of implementing electric buses in mass transportation was revealed. Two other alternatives were related to buses powered by gas or Euro 6 Diesel fuel.
To take this initiative from paper to reality, in Bucaramanga the implementation of a ‘green corridor’ was proposed on Carrera 33, where electric buses would provide transportation service.
Precisely, last Wednesday, this proposal was put on the table again at a meeting on strategic mobility projects for Santander, organized by Prosantander. The meeting was attended by delegates from the Territorial Development Finance Company, Findeter.
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“From the Metropolitan Area of Bucaramanga we have an electromobility project. It is a ‘pilot’ plan. They want to implement it in the Carrera 33 corridor, articulated with Metrolínea and Essa… There will be 40 electric buses,” said the director of the Bucaramanga Metropolitan Area, Rosemberg Sanabria, during the meeting.
Project details
Vanguardia consulted the director of the Bucaramanga Metropolitan Area, AMB, to learn more details about the initiative.
“The Carrera 33 project is planned within a set of actions of the Metropolitan Mobility Master Plan, which, among others, seeks to promote the prioritization of strategic corridors for public transportation,” said the official.
Among the actions framed by this plan is precisely the migration of the public transport fleet that circulates along Carrera 33 to clean energy.
In this corridor, the passage of public transport vehicles would be prioritized and, to date, the conditions for its implementation would be analyzed.
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In addition, in this road artery we would seek to demarcate several areas, adapt the existing stops and adopt joint measures together with the Bucaramanga Transit Directorate to improve mobility in the sector.
This editorial team learned that the arrival of the electric fleet would cost close to six million dollars and the Bucaramanga Metropolitan Area is analyzing how the millionaire sum could be obtained.
“Within the financial analysis of the ‘pilot’ plan, three possible financing models were identified. One would be the acquisition of public fleet, another through ‘renting’ (rental) and the last through investors,” indicated the director of the AMB.
The date on which the project would begin to operate is not yet known, but the authorities assured that, in addition to the ‘pilot’ in race 33, it is planned that it will reach several strategic corridors for public transportation.
It should be noted that it is also being studied that the nearly 7,300 taxis that operate in the metropolitan area will be gradually replaced by electric vehicles.
Are electric buses the best alternative?
In the midst of the Accidental Commission of the Congress of the Republic, which was held yesterday in Bucaramanga, Santander senator Gustavo Moreno argued several objections to the implementation of an electric fleet in mass transportation in Bucaramanga.
“The operation and maintenance of an electric bus is much more expensive than a gas bus or one that operates with Diesel. Mass transportation systems are in financial crisis. We need to have a new fleet in the metropolitan area but with what you buy one electric bus you can buy three gas or diesel buses,” Moreno said.
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The senator added that Metrolínea currently has 30 vehicles, five articulated, 12 registers and 13 feeders, and for the System to come into operation, without setbacks, 120 vehicles are required, that is, 90 more than those currently operating in the area. metropolitan.
“This fleet would cost about $340 billion with conventional vehicles. Now let’s imagine how much they would cost if they were electric. Not even Bogotá has its entire fleet operating with electrical energy,” said Senator Moreno.
This is how the electric bus fared in Bucaramanga
In February 2022, a 100% electric articulated bus arrived in the capital of Santander, which would carry out tests on the Metrolínea.
This vehicle, from the BYD company, started transporting passengers on route T2, Lagos – Quebradaseca. In a first report, it was reported that at least 135,000 people had mobilized in the article.
Regarding its mechanical operation, at the time, savings in spare parts of about $41 million were reported in less than a month, calculated between 0 and 200 thousand kilometers traveled.
The electric bus was lent to Metrolínea for about six months, but during its operation several problems were recorded.
The first problem arose because charging the bus took about four hours and had to be charged during the same period of time. The bus could only travel about eight hours a day.
On the other hand, after two months of running between Bucaramanga and Floridablanca, the bus registered a mechanical failure in the steering, which could only be repaired by the manufacturer. This vehicle ended up parked in the Metrolínea yards and did not return to service at the SITM.
