en.Wedoany.com Reported - The first electric bus for Cape Town's MyCiTi public transport system has arrived locally and is scheduled to undergo performance tests on several demanding routes in the city.
The bus is a 12-meter Volvo BZRLE battery electric model and is also the first MyCiTi bus with a body designed in South Africa and manufactured locally. It features MyCiTi's iconic blue and red livery and will be trialed in the coming weeks on routes including Hospital Bend, the N2 highway, Camps Bay, as well as Polkadraai Road and Jip de Jager Road, to assess its performance on steep slopes, frequent urban stop-start conditions, peak-hour congestion, and long-distance travel.
The pilot study evaluates aspects including battery performance, energy consumption, charging time, passenger load, route characteristics, and the impact of Cape Town's climate on vehicle performance. The study is conducted in collaboration with the University of Cape Town and funded by grants from the City of Cape Town (CoCT) and the Urban Electric Mobility Initiative.
Rob Quintas, Member of the Mayoral Committee for Urban Transport Management at the City of Cape Town, stated that the study helps understand the actual performance of electric buses locally and clarifies the challenges to be addressed before deploying an electric bus fleet in 2027; this information will ensure thorough preparation for introducing electric buses into regular passenger services.
As part of a multi-billion rand project to expand MyCiTi services to the southeastern metropolitan area, Cape Town will receive 38 low-floor battery electric buses. These buses are expected to arrive within this calendar year, but the fleet is not planned to enter service until next year. According to the plan, the first electric buses will begin operations on July 1 next year, running between Mitchells Plain and Khayelitsha, Wynberg and Claremont, and the Cape Town central business district.
The city government stated that procuring more battery electric buses remains a strategic priority but depends on future funding from the national government. Quintas noted that the MyCiTi service has been operating for 16 years, and the arrival of the first electric bus marks a significant milestone in this process, supporting the transition to a cleaner, more sustainable public transport system that is cheaper to operate and maintain and more resilient. He also mentioned that some countries operating electric buses have reported operational cost reductions of up to 70%, and the city looks forward to observing the bus's performance in the local environment in the coming weeks, especially against the backdrop of increasing volatility in the global energy market.
