Silent, designer and even similar to trams: this is how the electric buses are starting a 'boom' in Spain

Electric buses are beginning to take over Spanish cities.

The first arrived in drops, weighed down by a price that doubles that of diesel models, but the boost from European Next Generation funds and fuel savings herald a

: the current 400 electric buses for urban use will increase to more than a thousand in a year and a half, that is, around 10% of municipal fleets, according to data from the Association of Urban and Metropolitan Public Transport (ATUC), the employer's association of the sector.

Meanwhile, the Commission wants all urban vehicles to be emission-free by 2030. The vehicles that can already be seen on some streets are quieter, emit less heat, have different designs and, on occasions, even resemble trams, with models of low floor and articulated like those that already circulate through Zaragoza, Valladolid and Vitoria.

“We are experiencing a large increase in electric bus registrations, the curve is exponential: if in 2013 some 40 were registered per year throughout Europe, a decade later, in 2022, there were more than 4,000, that is, between 15% and 20% of the total number of new registrations of this type of vehicle”, says Umberto Guida, Head of Project Strategy at the International Union of Public Transport (UITP), which brings together some 1,900 companies in a hundred countries.

“Today the technology is already mature and we have several very reliable models, practically at the same level as diesels”, he continues.

According to Atuc, there are some 400 electric vehicles serving Spanish cities.

EL PAÍS has carried out a count among the ten most populated cities in Spain: Madrid already has 180 electric ones out of a total of 2,100, while in Barcelona there are 78 out of 1,132;

Valencia has 22 of 490 and Zaragoza, with 21 of 350. In Seville there are 10 of 400 and in Bilbao, 13 of 141. Las Palmas only has one and in Málaga, Murcia and Palma there are still none, but they have already contracted the arrival of the first for this year or the next.

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The main variable that still slows down the arrival of these vehicles is the price, which is still well above that of their polluting counterparts: if a diesel bus costs around 350,000 euros, according to sources in the sector, electric buses are sold for around 600,000 , almost double.

Another problem is the batteries: depending on the model, it may be necessary to change them during the useful life of the bus, and this cost can reach 300,000 euros.

It would be, then, almost triple that of a diesel bus.

"It is true that vehicles are more expensive, but if you do the math, electricity means 70% savings in terms of fuel, so in the end it pays off," says Jesús Coslado, councilor for Transport in Badajoz, a medium-sized city ( 150,000 inhabitants) which is far ahead of large cities: almost half of its vehicles are electrified (24 out of 53).

“We started in 2018 with 15 buses and the experience has been very positive.

By the end of next year we will have the complete fleet”, he continues.

They see many advantages: “When a normal bus passes by, it is hot, noisy and leaves a smell of diesel.

With electrics, all that disappears.

In addition, they are progressive automatics, so the driving is more balanced, ”he continues.

Badajoz electric buses, images provided by the city council.

According to the Ministry of Transport, "these buses mean a reduction in CO₂ emissions, which cause climate change, and pollutants, and they are also less noisy, which results in mobility that is more respectful of health, the environment and quality." of life in our cities.

Guida, from UITP, points out that, in addition, these vehicles allow you to play with the design: “The first generation were normal buses with an electric motor, but now we have chassis designed for them, and since the motor is much smaller you have new possibilities. in terms of space for passengers, you can make the buses much more accessible and comfortable than the previous ones”.

One of the most surprising models that can already be seen in cities like Zaragoza, Vitoria or Valladolid is the Ie tram, from the Spanish brand Irizar.

"It is our flagship, it has an innovative design similar to that of the tram that is highly recognizable by users and a very functional minimalist aesthetic language," says a spokeswoman for the company, whose design will soon hit the streets of Madrid.

The company claims to have increased production by 100% in one year: in 2022 they manufactured 300 buses of all models.

"The commitment to this type of vehicle is increasing in the market," adds the spokeswoman.

One of the new electric buses in Zaragoza, next to a tram.

Carlos Gil Roig

It is a feeling shared by Solaris, a company that manufactures some 1,500 buses a year at its plant in Poland that is distributed throughout Europe, of which more or less half are electric or hybrid: "In recent years, this trend has accelerated, and around 30% of the buses that are sold already have a battery”, they point out.

They say something similar in another brand, Mercedes: "The process of changing to zero-emission technologies in urban buses has accelerated," they say.

Another of the actors is the Chinese company BYD, which has not responded to this newspaper's query.

European push

A boost to this trend came a few days ago from Brussels, when the European Commission announced that it wants all city buses to be zero emissions by 2030, that is, electric or hydrogen (still a very expensive technology).

The agency considers that these vehicles have fewer technical problems than others potentially subjected to extreme conditions (low temperatures or harsher terrain that requires more fuel or technology that is not necessarily up to the challenge yet).

In addition, by carrying out pre-arranged urban routes, they have an easier time recharging at night.

One of the tools to achieve this is the European Next Generation funds, which the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and the Urban Agenda has distributed in this matter.

A spokeswoman for the department of Raquel Sánchez confirms that in the first call for subsidies for sustainable urban mobility, aid has been awarded for the purchase of 651 zero-emission urban buses (the vast majority, electric) in 44 municipalities.

In the second call, aid has been requested for another 428, although they have not yet been resolved.

TMB electric bus in Barcelona.

The vehicle has been manufactured by Irizar.TMB

The ministry grants 200,000 euros per vehicle, and up to 260,000 if they are 18 meters long.

“They finance approximately 40% of the bus, the unfinanced rest is still more expensive than a natural gas (CNG) one, which consumes and pollutes half that of a diesel, except for greenhouse gases, which does emit more”, explains Álvaro Fernández Heredia, manager of the urban buses in Valladolid.

In that city they already have 11 of the 150 electric vehicles.

“It is clear that there is a

in these buses, although, in my opinion, it is a transition energy until hydrogen arrives at competitive prices”, he continues.

Jesús Herrero, general secretary of Atuc, points out that European financing will mean a revolution in the sector: "When these 650 buses are delivered, added to the current ones, there will be more than 1,100 in Spanish cities, that is, something like 10 % of the urban fleets will be electrified in a year and a half, since right now some 11,000 urban buses are in operation”.

In his opinion, "although public transport is always more sustainable than the car, it is important that it also leads by example, which is why we will see more and more electric vehicles."

Recharging electric buses at EMT facilities in Madrid.

Madrid, for example, has plans to have 25% of its electric fleet in two years (that is, more than 300 new vehicles) and Zaragoza will incorporate 68 buses of this type in the same period.

The trend has even reached other types of municipalities: in Alcorcón (Madrid) they want to change their 15 buses to electric ones before the end of the year.

Guida points out that another of the challenges of the arrival of these vehicles is the modification of the garages and the creation of charging infrastructures: almost all the big cities are already drawing up plans to do so, some with European funding.

In Badajoz they also have a virtual simulator for this type of vehicle: "There is an important difference in driving, you have to enter the forecast parameter to use the brake as little as possible,

because in the deceleration an energy recharge is achieved that helps the batteries”, says the councilor Coslado, from Badajoz.

The electrification of urban buses is already unstoppable.

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