New electric bus to connect FGC stations in Bellaterra, UAB campus and Alba Synchrotron
Operated by Moventis, the bus will begin to run on Monday 12 June and forms part of the Government of Catalonia's decarbonising transport initiative.
Minister for Territory Juli Fernàndez, UAB Rector Javier Lafuente, President of Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya (FGC) Toni Segarra, and Mayor of Cerdanyola del Vallès Carles Cordón, among others, took part in the presentation, at the FGC's Bellaterra station, of the new electric bus that will connect, as of next Monday 12 June, the train station with Parc de l'Alba, in Cerdanyola del Vallès, through the UAB campus via its southern axis (Eix Sud).
The Bellaterra-Parc de l'Alba line has an annual demand of 24,000 journeys and promotes sustainable travel for people going to the campus and the science and technology park through the use of public transport, in this case with a combination of bus and train. The bus, operated by Moventis, is 8.3 metres long, has a capacity for 43 passengers, is accessible and consumes 75 kWh per 100 km. The batteries will be charged at night in the company's bus depots.
Decarbonising transport
The Ministry for Territory, through the Directorate General of Transport and Mobility and the Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya (FGC), is renewing the fleet of the seven interurban lines that currently connect FGC stations with nearby urban and industrial centres using electric buses. These will be the government's first seven interurban lines to be 100% electric.
In total, 12 diesel buses will be replaced by electric buses. The use of electric vehicles is already commonplace in urban transport networks, but not so in interurban transport networks, where the need for vehicle autonomy to provide services means that there is not yet a fully developed industry of electric public transport vehicles, and each action must be adapted to the characteristics and needs of each service.
This initiative is in line with the Government's policy of decarbonising mobility and will reduce the emission of 800 tonnes of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere each year. It is an action that contributes to improving air quality and also to reducing noise pollution. It is, in fact, an initiative included in the Government's Climate Action Commitment and in the FGC's 10/30 Strategy, in accordance with the United Nations' Agenda 2030.