From green to electric bus in Dubai

Dubai - After hybrid cars, taxis, and green buses, a giant leap is being taken towards achieving sustainability goals in the transport sector. An electricity-powered bus will ply the roads of Dubai for the next nine months as part of a new initiative rolled out by the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA). The transport authority signed an MoU to provide for the trial run of an electricity-powered bus supplied by Liberty Automobiles to measure the effectiveness of running electricity-powered buses on Tuesday, March 2. The bus will start operating in Dubai shortly. Officials from Liberty Automobiles said that a temporary depot for the buses would be in Al Garhoud, which will also be the starting point of the service, and will provide all resources needed to recharge the bus during the prescribed trial period. RTA’s bus drivers will undergo training on the operation and maintenance of these buses. The Public Transport Agency will also designate a specific route for the bus. The initial announcement about the initiative was made in November 2014, wherein the RTA announced that it will embark upon the trial run of electric buses where the battery can be recharged up to 80 per cent in less than 30 minutes and the bus can cover up to 200km with a full battery at a speed of 100km per hour. RTA stated that it would coordinate with the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) about future steps with regards to providing the infrastructure of electric vehicles. Dr Yousef Al Ali, CEO of RTA’s Public Transport Agency said: “Through this trial, we have agreed with Liberty Automobiles to operate this electric bus for nine months during which the bus will be deployed as part of our bus fleet at the cost of the Company in order to assess the technical and operational performance of the bus as well as the efficiency of the electrically-powered bus operation,” said Al Ali. Nihad Al Kilani, Director-General for Fleet and Commercial Affairs at the Liberty Company said that they are very happy with the project and that both companies will work The companies will be seeking to achieve a host of objectives including deploying an electricity-powered bus fitted with high-standard technical specifications to operate as part of public transport means on a trial bases. Liberty Company will cater to all costs covering the insurance, operation, branding, equipment, service, labour, spare parts, tyres, maintenance and the recharging during the trial run. RTA drivers will also be trained before the deployment of the bus and maintain periodic follow-up of drivers during the experiment. In 2008, RTA was the first entity in the region that embarked upon a trial run of hybrid vehicles. Charging stations Last week the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) opened the first public charging stations for environment-friendly electric vehicles (EV) under the brand name Dubai EV Green Charger. Sixteen stations are included in the first phase of the project, which is one of the three Smart Dubai initiatives that Dewa announced last year. Twelve of these stations are located in Dewa’s offices across the emirate, while Dubai Silicon Oasis (DSO) and Dubai Design District house two each. One charging station at DSO along with other stations in Dewa offices are ready for use, while the remaining three will be operational in March.