Barcelona Metropolitan Transports (TMB) has opened the process for acquiring 210 electric and hybrid buses, which will be replacing others with more polluting technologies and now 15 years old reaching the end of their useful lives between this year and 2025.

This is the first implementation from the road map announced this December for improving the environmental quality of Barcelona’s fleet of buses, according to which only clean and preferably electric-engine vehicles are to be incorporated from now on.

The large-volume tendering process opened this week and agreed to with the Metropolitan Transport Authority (ATM), is divided up into five lots, two of which correspond to 100% electric and zero-emission vehicles, consisting of 78 units in all: 29 articulated, equipped with pantographs for opportunity charging, and 49 standard, with batteries and pantographs for night-time charging at the depot, with the latter divided up into two sublots which will be awarded to different suppliers.

Complete electrification of the H12, H16 and V15 lines

The 29 fast-charging electric articulated buses will join the ordered 23 vehicles of the same type at the manufacturing stage and the 7 currently in service in the H16 line.

The goal is to implement the project involving the complete electrification of Barcelona’s first three urban lines, all three of which being in high demand: H16, H12 and V15. The others will help to make it possible for more than half the fleet of TMB buses in 2030 to driven by electric power.

Besides electric-power buses, the largest group of vehicles to be hired is that of the hybrid compressed natural gas standards, 85 of which are going to be manufactured.  They will all be allocated to replacing old-technology compressed natural-gas buses.

Finally, offers are being requested for the provision of 24 double-decker, hybrid diesel-electric buses to replace the diesel units, also double deckers, currently used by Barcelona Bus Turístic. The overall base budget comes to 116 million euros.

An efficient and sustainable network

The invitation to tender in progress covers approximately half of TMB’s bus-acquisition needs for the coming four years, estimated at 410 units, 62% of which will be zero emission: electric powered by batteries, pantograph charging or hydrogen by pantograph or hydrogen fuel cell.

More specifically, the three ordered buses awarded and awaiting delivery include  8 hydrogen fuel-cell units manufactured by Caetano Bus. The other two are 23 electric articulated buses supplied by Solaris and Irizar, and 46 hybrid natural-gas cars (the first of this type) which MAN and Evobus have been commissioned with. In all, 77 new green-propulsion buses making their debut throughout 2021.

SOURCE: TMB