Isreal BYD has secured its first major electric bus order in Israel. A fleet of 17 single-deck 12m ebuses will service the northern port city of Haifa, Israel’s third largest city. The buses will be operated by Egged, which with almost 3,000 buses is the country’s largest bus operator. The buses were purchased following a competitive tendering process and are expected to cover 200km per bus per day. A BYD ebus has been operating in Tel Aviv, Israel’s second largest city, since 2013.
Ze’ev Elkin, Israel’s Minister of Environmental Protection, said: “It’s the beginning of a revolution in the Haifa area which aims to reduce pollution coming from public transportation through the planned investment of 400 million Shekels (€93.6m).”
Yisrael Katz, Minister of Transport, said: “These buses are just the beginning. We aim to introduce green transportation in the Haifa area and around the country.”
Isbrand Ho, Managing Director of BYD Europe, added: “This is a very significant development for BYD – a new country for us which recognises the strength of the BYD product. It’s important to note that it’s the good experience over four years of our trial bus in Tel Aviv that led to this week’s announcement.”
