The electric bus in Bratislava. (source: SITA)
A LOW-capacity electric bus for potential use in the Slovak capital was introduced at the Hroboňova Street depot of the Bratislava Transport Company (DPB) in mid-February.
The electric bus was tested on February 13-14 on the 130 line that operates in the Lamač borough, the TASR newswire wrote. The bus can travel up to 150 km per hour and can be recharged from a regular socket at 380 volts AC. It has a 22-passenger capacity. Its listed benefits are low operational costs, minimum noise and practically no emissions.
By testing the electric bus, Bratislava has been following the lead of other European metropolises which have introduced similar vehicles into their public transportation systems, said Bratislava mayor Milan Ftáčnik.
However, because of the buses’ high price – nearly double that of a diesel-powered bus – the mayor says their mass deployment would only be possible with financial support from the European Union. In the new 2014-20 programming period, Bratislava could receive up to €300 million for support of public transport and electro-mobility.
