World’s biggest bus maker tests electric bus in Moscow

By Swann Bigot, legal expert and consultant in international affairs, for Eurasia Network – August 8, 2017

Electric bus Yutong and electric bus LiAZ-6274  – Source : Mosgortrans, July 2017

As the tests of the Russian electric bus LiAZ-6274 came to an end, the Chinese electric bus Yutong began its testing phase. It runs on the route M2 from the metro station Fili in the West of Moscow to the station Kitay Gorod in the center, on a distance of 12 kilometers. The vehicle is tested with different loads in order to study its characteristics, explained Pavel Khmelev, the Chief engineer of the public transport company Mosgortrans. So far, the bus has been running without passengers.

The manufacturer is Zhengzhou Yutong Bus Co. Ltd., a Chinese company which is the world’s biggest bus maker with vehicles in more than 130 markets as recently reported Bloomberg.

Regarding its operational features, the electric bus Yutong can transport up to 73 passengers and has 36 seats. The maximum speed is 69 km/h while the announced cruising range amounts to 200 kilometers. Batteries are charged from a 380 volts power network. Compared with conventional city buses, the repair and maintenance of the Chinese electric bus is much simpler.

Electric bus Yutong – Source : Mos.ru, July 2017

Evgeny Tseng, a representative of the Chinese bus maker, told Russian journalists that the electric bus can resist the harsh Russian winter, hot summer and wet spring.

Several models of electric buses manufactured in Russia, Finland and Belarus have already been tested in the streets of Moscow since August 2016 by the engineers of Mosgortrans. Indeed, the Municipality wants to replace its fossil fueled buses in order to improve the air quality.

Read also: Electric bus successfully tested in Saint Petersburg

The authorities even announced that a public tender for the supply of 300 electric buses will be held by the end of the year. One of the requirements will be the localization of the production in Russia. The tests of electric buses took place so that the Municipality could gather information in order to determine the needs and formulate requirements for the coming public tender.

Regarding the localization of production on the Russian territory, Evgeny Tseng answered that Zhengzhou Yutong Bus Co. Ltd is ready to open electric bus manufacture capacities in the country.

Read also: Beijing’s electric buses to number 10,000 by 2020

Mosgortrans has prepared a draft of the technical requirements for the future electric buses of Moscow. The document is discussed by engineers and manufacturers.

The Chief engineer of Mosgortrans Pavel Khmelev said that after the conclusion of the tender procedure and the selection of a manufacturer, the delivery of the first electric buses will take place in September-October 2018. He then added that high-quality electric buses can be manufactured today by Russian industry.

Moscow chooses electric buses

Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin recently announced that the Russian capital will stop using fossil fueled buses in the coming years.

“In three years, Moscow will stop using fossil fueled buses. Ecology of the city will greatly benefit” wrote Sergey Sobyanin on his Twitter account after a meeting with the Russian Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev last July.

“We are preparing for this autumn a public tender for the purchase of electric buses. We are waiting for good development” added the Mayor.

Sergey Sobyanin stated during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) held in June that the Municipality aims to gradually replace fossil fueled buses with modern electric buses in order to improve the ecological situation in Moscow. The Deputy Mayor Maxim Liksutov announced later on radio that first electric buses will appear in Moscow in 2018.

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© Copyright 2019 – Swann Bigot, legal expert and consultant in international affairs, for Eurasia Network

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