Uruguay’s Public Transport Goes Electric

Uruguay’s Public Transport Goes Electric
By Inés Acosta



A K9 electric bus parked on a street in downtown Montevideo. Credit: Inés Acosta/IPS

MONTEVIDEO, Mar 24 2014 (IPS) - Uruguay plans to gradually replace oil-based fuels with electric energy in its public transport system, and is currently assessing the costs and benefits of the shift.

Tests indicate that the running costs of electric buses can be six- to eight-fold lower than for diesel buses.

For the last two years, studies have been under way on the potential benefits of adding electric vehicles to the public transport fleet in Montevideo, where half the country’s 3.3 million people live.

In late 2013, performance and range trials were carried out on an E6 model car and a K9 model bus made by the Chinese company BYD. The results were presented on Mar. 13.

More:
http://www.ipsnews.net/2014/03/uruguays-public-transport-goes-electric/