Skip to main content

Uruguay launches first ''zero emissions'' electric buses

Uruguay transit companies BUQUEBUS and CTS Auto have partnered with Chinese vehicle manufacturer, BYD to provide the first twelve metre rapid transit bus powered only by electricity in Uruguay and the region. The BYD electric bus integrates several technologies including two in-wheel electric motors capable of a cruising speed over 88 km/h and what it said to be the first of its kind, an environmentally-friendly iron-phosphate battery. This drive system provides a range of over 250 km (155 miles) – nearly t
May 23, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
Uruguay transit companies BUQUEBUS and CTS Auto have partnered with Chinese vehicle manufacturer, 5445 BYD to provide the first twelve metre rapid transit bus powered only by electricity in Uruguay and the region.

The BYD electric bus integrates several technologies including two in-wheel electric motors capable of a cruising speed over 88 km/h and what it said to be the first of its kind, an environmentally-friendly iron-phosphate battery. This drive system provides a range of over 250 km (155 miles) – nearly twenty-four hours of service daily for most transit applications. The BYD battery technology also allows for a full charge in less than five hours. The bus can be charged overnight, while the electricity pricing is lower.

The rechargeable battery system and electric motors developed by BYD engineers offer significant savings in both energy consumption and environmental pollution. The in-wheel-hub motors mean the BYD electric bus has the lowest floor of any bus, enabling easy access for people with reduced mobility, wheelchairs and baby strollers. The buses to be used in Uruguay are to be used on the tourist bus routes in the city of Colonia, although several long-distance BYD buses will shortly be deployed on urban transport routes.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Dutch flying car successfully concludes test flights
    April 3, 2012
    Dutch company PAL-V Europe has concluded test flights of its flying car, the PAL-V (Personal Air and Land Vehicle). The patented vehicle flies in the air like a gyrocopter with lift generated by an auto-rotating rotor and forward speed is produced by a foldable push propeller on the back. On the road it drives like a sports car. No new infrastructure is required because it uses existing roads and airstrips.
  • Hyperloop Transportation Technologies reaches agreement with Slovakia
    March 14, 2016
    Slovakian government officials have finalised an agreement with JumpStartFund's Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HTT) to explore building a local Hyperloop system, with the aim of creating future routes connecting Bratislava with Vienna, Austria and Budapest, Hungary. According to HTT, a Bratislava to Vienna route could take about eight minutes at Hyperloop's full speed; a Bratislava to Budapest route just 10 minutes. A route between Bratislava and Kosice a distance of 400 kilometres (250 miles)
  • Lidar: beginning to see the light
    March 14, 2022
    Lidar feels like a technology whose time has come – but why now? Adam Hill talks to manufacturers, vendors and system integrators in the sector to assess the state of play and to find out what comes next
  • Re-set the clock
    February 27, 2012
    The route of the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run, the world's longest-running motoring event, passes right by the end of the street where I live.