Transport

Electric buses in Cape Town

15 Mar, 2016

Cape Town becomes first African city to launch electric public transport.

Cape Town has invited tenders for a fleet of 12-m electric buses, as part of its commitment to lower carbon emissions.

The tender, worth R50million over two years, specifies that the successful bidder must also provide charging points for the buses whose batteries should be able to last a minimum of 250km in traffic before needing to be recharged.

The initiative follows Cape Town's commitment to reduce energy consumption and fuel emissions as part of the Paris Pledge for Action adopted at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (Cop21) in Paris last September.

Under the latest so-called alternative fuel technology, Cape Town will accumulate carbon credits for operating a green fleet, which in turn can be sold onto developed countries that are signatories to the Kyoto Protocol, a 1992 international treaty to reduce greenhouse gases emissions.