Santiago, Chile, has launched Latin America’s first electric bus corridor, announced manufacturer BYD, which has shipped 285 battery-electric buses to system operators Enel X and Metbus.
“Chile now has 386 pure electric buses (74 percent of which are BYD-made), making Santiago the city in the world with the biggest pure-electric bus fleet outside of China,” BYD announced.
The Oct. 15 launch of the service was attended by Chilean President Sebastian Pinera, who said, “We are taking this great leap forward and into the future. This new public transportation system will allow us to improve the quality of life of all inhabitants.”
Large-capacity batteries provide 250 kilometers of range for the buses, BYD said.
