BOGOTÁ, Colombia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Express del Futuro, a partner-operator of Transmilenio, and BYD, are unveiling plans for an electric bus fleet in one of Colombia’s largest rapid transits at a Press Conference Tuesday 7:00AM Calle 80 # 96-91, Bogotá, Colombia. Express is the first to unveil plans to test zero-emissions, all-electric buses in fleet service in all of South American. The BYD K9’s all-electric bus will be placed into service as of Q2 2013 in the Colombian capital. Express del Futuro has sought to implement innovative and revolutionary technologies that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, noise, and maintenance costs, as well as eliminate fossil fuel consumption over the lifetime of the buses in Bogotá. Among the other benefits of reducing emissions of greenhouse gases, the project can lead to the improvement of the environmental conditions of transportation for the passengers and decrease particulate pollution.
Electric buses will allow cities, municipalities, and their inhabitants to be more socially and environmentally responsible. In China, for example, the technology is already mature, with the operation of more than 1,000 units of EVs for more than two years. Currently, there are ~3,000 additional ordered units, which may be placed into operation by December 2013. Based on the results of these electric bus’ superior reliability and performance, China has increased its commitment to improving the air quality of its major cities.
According to Andres Jaramillo, Manager of Express del Futuro, “This operator-led initiative is an effort to innovate public transportation in Bogota and make not only the quality of transportation better, but also the city’s pollution problems and contributing to all the citizens’ well-being. As operators, we are pioneers in the inclusion of buses with the highest quality standards, including the Euro 4 and 5 technologies that contribute to the reduction of gas emissions.”
The first stage of the project will extend over a month, taking into account aspects of operational performance, energy consumption during the driving cycle, battery behavior in terms of discharge and recharge during the cycles, and total energy consumption. Additionally, weight loads will be used to verify the robustness, performance and behavior at different elevations in Bogotá. The results of the tests will be compared with last year’s tests completed by the C40-Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI-C40), and explore the possibility of implementing this technology in new TransMilenio mass transit projects. The objective of this initiative is to implement mass-adoption of electric buses in the city of Bogota and is backed by Transmilenio, the Secretary of Environment, Express del Futuro, BYD Motor Colombia SAS, and Praco Didacol and will use BYD’s 12 meter buses with a carrying capacity of ~80 standing passengers. The BYD vehicle is 100% environmentally friendly. Ms. Stella Li, BYD Senior Vice President commented, “BYD is very impressed with the leadership in Colombia and their vision to be a part of the new clean technology era with electrified public transportation. We hope to triple our growth and presence in Colombia by next year.”
BYD is the world’s largest electric bus manufacturer – BYD’s fleet vehicles have accumulated over 50 million kilometers (or >30 M fleet miles) as of Dec 2012. BYD’s market differentiator is the long-cycle-life and the environmentally-friendly Iron-Phosphate battery – the key enabler for the BYD electric vehicle. BYD Auto’s, distributed through Praco Didacol, are an excellent option for Colombian citizens because the quality and service are guaranteed by Praco Didacol, which has a strong local reputation for customer satisfaction in Colombia for over 95 years. For more information, visit BYD at www.facebook.com/bydcompany and www.byd.com
About BYD
BYD is ranked #1 at the top of Bloomberg’s and Business Week's 2009 Tech 100 List (http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20100520006751/en/BYD-Tops-Bloomberg-Businessweek%E2%80%99s-12th-Annual-Tech) and is the leading manufacturer of advanced, environmentally-friendly battery technologies like the BYD’s Iron Phosphate battery used in BYD electric vehicles and electric buses. BYD’s solar panels and LED Lighting systems have CEC, TUV/CE and UL listings, and the company enjoys rapid growth in consumer electronics space and electrified transportation sector manufacturing under its BYD brand. BYD is the fastest-growing Chinese automotive and green energy technology enterprise. The Company trades on the Hong Kong Exchange (HKE) under the ticker numbers (HK.0285 – BYD Electronics) and (HK.1211 – BYD Company Ltd.), as well as on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange under the ticker number (002594 - BYD Company Ltd.). For more information, visit www.byd.com, www.facebook.com/bydcompany or email pr@byd.com
About Express del Futuro
Express del Futuro, a leader in the Mass Transit System of Bogota TransMilenio, was created in July 1999 by transporters with vision and commitment to provide safe, fast, reliable massive transit service. Express del Futuro pioneered the modern TransMilenio transportation system in Bogota, Colombia. For more information, visit http://www.expressdelfuturo.co/