The City of Cape Town plans to conduct a research project to test and understand how electric buses will operate as part of the metro’s MyCiti bus fleet.
The city’s management recently announced that it will undertake this research in partnership with the University of Cape Town (UCT), and that the project will be funded by the City of Cape Town through a grant from the Urban Electric Mobility Initiative (UEMI).
The UEMI is a global initiative focused on accelerating the transition to sustainable and environmentally-friendly transport solutions in urban areas.
The City stated that the research will be done in preparation for the launch of the metro’s first electric bus fleet, which is set to be introduced on major routes within the next two years.
“The City, together with UCT, has applied to the eBRT0230 for EUR90,000 grant funding to undertake the MyCiTi electric bus (e-bus) project,” it said in an official press release.
“The grant is supplemented with a contribution from the City and will be used to test the operational impact of e-buses before the electric bus fleet is rolled out on routes along the metro-south east corridor in 2027/28.”
The research project will feature up to four 12-metre electric buses, which will be deployed along various MyCiti routes across Cape Town.
The City said that the first bus will arrive in the first quarter of the new financial year “if all goes as planned.”
MyCiti going electric
The intention behind the research is to test the buses on as many routes as possible to gather data about the feasibility of the new buses.
This includes factors like how long the vehicle batteries will last once charged, how long it takes to charge the batteries, route profiles, the effect of the climate on battery discharge, and the impact on passenger numbers.
The City is also interested in the potential savings on maintenance and operational expenses, as some countries with electric bus fleets have reported a reduction of up to 70% in operating costs.
“‘We are grateful that the Mayoral Committee has given us the go ahead to sign the agreement with the eBRT2030 Consortium to participate in this programme,” said the city’s management.
“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.”
It noted that this research will be critical in understanding the impact that the new buses will have on the MyCiti service, as it will highlight new logistical concerns that may need to be addressed.
This may include new training for the bus drivers, new maintenance requirements, changes to passenger loads, and fault reporting.
“In fact, all over the world, countries undertake a pilot before the rollout their e-fleet. UCT is our partner in this,” said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Urban Mobility, Councillor Rob Quintas.
“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.”
The City stated that it will sign the grant agreement with the UEMI, the contracting entity acting on behalf of eBRT2030, which is funded by the European Union under the Horizon Europe programme.
The research project is expected to continue until at least December 2026, though this may be extended to June 2027 with the UEMI’s approval.
Cape Town intends to rollout the new e-bus fleet on MyCiti routes in the metro-south east, including new routes that will form part of the service’s Phase 2A expansion.
It said the first buses will start operating by 1 July 2027, transporting passengers between Mitchells Plain and Khayelitsha, Wynberg and Claremont, and the Cape Town CBD.
Loading ...
