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.

Related Content

  • March 3, 2017
    Freight poses growing problem for city authorities
    Wes Guckert considers possible solutions and countermeasures to the problems of increased freight deliveries in growing cities. In January 2016, the US Department of Transportation (USDoT) conducted a session on the SmartCity Challenge and Urban Freight and Logistics. This session was a follow-up to the USDoT report titled, Beyond Traffic 2045.
  • July 16, 2012
    Semi-autonomous hybrid vehicle trials show fuel, emission savings
    The Transport Research Laboratory has unveiled an innovative semi-autonomous vehicle prototype. It offers improves in environmental performance and safety but also displays some shortcomings. Mike Woof reports. The UK's Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) has been working on an innovative project to develop a prototype vehicle intended to reduce fuel consumption. Based on a Ford Escape hybrid model, TRL's Sentience vehicle uses a combination of mobile communications and mapping technologies to reduce fuel c
  • April 25, 2012
    Alternative fuel buses gaining significant traction
    According to a recent report from Pike Research, the trend toward cleaner transit buses will continue over the next several years, and by 2015 the cleantech market intelligence firm forecasts that alternative fuel vehicles will represent more than 50 per cent of the 64,000 total transit buses that will be delivered worldwide during that year, up from 28 per cent of total bus deliveries in 2010.
  • July 8, 2019
    London needs just one road user charge, says report
    London’s patchwork of road charging schemes should be replaced by a single, distance-based user charge, according to new research. Apart from anything else, it would be much fairer… The UK capital’s multiple road charging schemes require a radical overhaul, according to a new report by the Centre for London thinktank. The suggested solution is to replace existing levies on drivers with a single, distance-based user charge which would more fairly reflect how much, and at what time, people are using London