A MyCiTi electric bus fleet is planned to start operating by 1 July 2027. (Image source: 123RF, created via GenAI)
Cape Town’s urban mobility directorate, in collaboration with the University of Cape Town (UCT), will research the use of electric buses (e-buses) as part of the MyCiTi bus fleet.
The research, which is scheduled to take place in the coming months, seeks to test and understand the operational impact of e-buses before the electric bus fleet is rolled-out.
According to a statement, the e-bus research is funded by the city and through a grant from the Urban Electric Mobility Initiative (UEMI).
The agreement between the city and the eBRT2030, the UEMI implementing agent, was given the go-ahead by the mayoral committee this week.
The city, together with UCT, applied to the eBRT0230 for €90 000 (R1.7 million) grant funding to undertake the MyCiTi e-bus project. The grant is supplemented with a contribution from the city.
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“The research is critical as we need to understand how the electric buses will perform in our local context, and what challenges we need to take into account before we roll-out the e-bus fleet in 2027,” says mayoral committee member for urban mobility Rob Quintas.
“All of this information will assist us in planning better, and to be prepared in terms of the logistics and other needs, such as the training of the bus drivers, maintenance requirements, passenger loads, fault reporting and so forth. In fact, all over the world, countries undertake a pilot before they roll-out their e-fleet.
“UCT is our partner in this. They will lead the feasibility study and research components of the eBRT2030 project, as well as the additional monitoring and evaluation. We get the benefit of the research, and we can then apply the outcomes in our planning.”
Data published by GreenCape last year revealed thatthe cumulative market for electric buses is projected to reach 576 vehicles by 2030.
By the end of 2024, the cumulative electric bus market in SA stood at 156 vehicles, with a market value of R1.1 billion, according to GreenCape.
In Cape Town, Golden Arrow Bus Services has been testing electric buses since 2020. Last year, the public transport service officially launched its e-bus project, setting a target of increasing its electric fleet to 120 by the end of last year.
According to the city, its research project involves up to four 12-metre electric buses that will be deployed along various MyCiTi routes in Cape Town, with the first bus expected to arrive in the first quarter of the new financial year, if all goes as planned.
“The intention is to test the e-buses on as many of the existing MyCiTi routes as possible for a period of about 12 months to determine how the buses perform on different route profiles; how long the batteries last once charged; and the impact of passenger numbers, the route profile and climate on the battery discharging; how long it takes to charge the batteries; and so forth.
“Another key aspect of the research relates to maintenance and operational costs of an electric bus fleet – some countries operating e-buses have noted a reduction of up to 70% in operating costs.”
The city highlights that the research project will continue until at least December and may be extended to June 2027, with UEMI’s approval.
Furthermore, the city intends to deploy an electric bus fleet along the MyCiTi routes that operate in the metro south-east, including the new routes that will form part of phase 2A.
“The first e-buses will start operating by 1 July 2027, and transport passengers between Mitchells Plain and Khayelitsha, Wynberg and Claremont, as well as the Cape Town CBD.”
