The SOR NS 12 electric bus, an alternative to the commonly-used diesel buses, is undergoing a trial run on the streets of Brno to test its feasibility for the future. Photo credit: DPMB
Brno, Feb 8 (BD) – Since February 1st, the City of Brno has been running a trial of an electric bus on the city’s streets. The Brno Transport Company (DPMB) has no plans yet to purchase its own electric buses, mainly due to the unfavorable energy situation, so the current operation is still a test, due to run until the end of the month. DPMB borrowed the bus directly from the manufacturer, and it will spend the night in the Komín depot, which is best equipped to charge it. Passengers will encounter it most often on lines 32, 37 and 67, allowing DPMB to also test its driving characteristics in hilly terrain.
After a month-long test, followed by another test in the summer, DPMB will evaluate the usefulness of the borrowed vehicle. To purchase, the bus would cost CZK 10-13 million, while diesel buses cost about half that amount. Charging stations would have to be purchased to serve the electric bus; charging normally takes seven hours, though a faster variant can do it in one hour. “The current energy situation due to high development prices does not favour electromobility,” explained Miloš Havránek, the Director General of DPMB. “But we want to be ready, and if a suitable subsidy opportunity arises, we would consider investing in electric buses. Unfortunately, the current conditions are unrealistic for us from an economic point of view.”
The advantage, on the other hand, is a lower ecological burden. If it proves successful, buses of this type would be a possible alternative in the future. “Greening transport is one of the steps of the Priprav Brno (“Get Ready, Brno”) program, which aims to reduce greenhouse gases in the city,” said Brno Mayor Markéta Vaňková (ODS). “Thanks to tram and trolleybus transport, two-thirds of the DPMB fleet runs on electricity, and half of the buses run on natural gas, so four-fifths of Brno’s total public transport fleet thus has an ecological drive. But we are still trying to move forward.”
