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Sofia’s electric buses boost quality and sustainability in public transport
Mayor of Sofia Yordanka Fandakova noted at the Energy for a Green Future environmental conference that the city continues to electrify public transport.
She pointed out that, according to plans, 45% of Sofia’s public transport will be fully electric by the end of the year, reminding that the city set this ambitious goal years ago.
City authorities noted that Sofia expanded its metro and replaced polluting vehicles from the public transport fleet with electric ones in recent years, stressing that the move improved quality of public transport and made it more environmentally friendly.
Sofia was the first city in Bulgaria and one of the first cities in Europe to introduce electric buses, with city authorities reminding that electrification started with small pilot projects.
Fandakova noted that fuel for electric buses is two to three times less expensive compared to diesel buses and stressed that this difference will cover the higher cost of electric buses in roughly 4 years.
She added that transport operators are expanding charging infrastructure to support the switch to electric vehicles and pointed out that the move will facilitate development in the future.
“We carried out the largest-scale modernization of public transport and secured funding that really changed the quality of public transport in Sofia,” she concluded.
(Photo credit: Sofia)
