EMT Madrid expands its fleet with 30 new BYD electric buses

The municipal transport company of Madrid (EMT) has just announced the placing of an order for Thirty new electric buses which will be in service in the city. They are all 12-meter-long buses manufactured by the Chinese company BYD.

Last May, this same manufacturer already delivered 15 electric buses that seem to have met the EMT's expectations, which has led them to now place a new order, this time doubling the number of units.

The EMT thus becomes the municipal transport company with the largest number of fully electric buses in its fleet. It is also expected that orders like this will continue over time, since the company plans to replace a good number of buses currently in serviceAlthough it is true that, probably, not all of them will end up being replaced by electric models.

BYD electric buses meet all the requirements demanded by the EMT

In a press release, the EMT states that it has chosen these thirty buses from the manufacturer BYD after thoroughly studying several operational parameters, including their autonomy on a single charge, the cost of the energy consumed, maintenance costs and the warranty offered by the manufacturer.

The 15 BYD electric buses delivered in May are currently serving on line 52 that connects Puerta del Sol with Santamarca, as well as in the ZERO lines that run through the city.

BYD is expected to deliver these 30 new electric buses at the beginning of 2021, so that from that moment on they can begin to provide service.

A booming sector despite the crisis

As expected, demand for electric buses in Europe has been significantly affected by the current situation. However, it is expected that when a solution is finally found and travellers regain confidence in public transport, demand for this type of buses with an electric propulsion system will grow strongly again.

The electrification of municipal bus fleets is one of the measures that has the greatest impact on improving air quality in cities and reducing noise levels. A double objective sought by local authorities in any European city and, practically, in the world.