Within May, the 110 electric buses were received by OASTH from the Chinese company Yutong will be circulating on the streets of Thessaloniki, while by May 19th, if not earlier, the construction of their charging station at the organisation’s depot in Stavroupoli, with a budget of 8.737 million euros, will be completed.
The above was indicated by officials of the organisation during today’s trial run of an electric bus, which started from the terminal station at Eleftherias Square and ended there, after first heading towards the Lefko Pyrgo (White Tower), with passengers including journalists, technical staff from the media, and two representatives of the Chinese company Yutong.
“Completely silent, zero emissions, and with exceptional driving behavior,” noted Haris Vanavas, the driver of the electric bus on this trial route, who has been working at OASTH for 20 years and operates the route on Line 30, Triandria-Depo.”
The characteristics of the electric buses
The electric buses are twelve meters long and have a capacity of 75 passengers. They charge in about three hours, and based on the tender specifications, they have a minimum range of 180 kilometers. However, trial routes so far have shown that the buses’ autonomy can reach up to 300 kilometers, which more than meets the organisation’s needs. Operating in two shifts, they cover approximately 250 kilometers per day, ensuring there is enough energy in reserve to return to their base, as emphasised by Christos Hatzigeorgiou, a transportation expert and development manager at OASTH, to the Athens-Macedonian News Agency (ANA-MPA).
Furthermore, the electric buses, which are completely silent, feature air conditioning, ventilation, and tilting windows. They also have a ramp for the access of Persons with Disabilities at the middle door and a special space for a wheelchair. Additionally, they are environmentally friendly with zero emissions.
It’s worth noting that the 110 electric buses of OASTH, along with the 55 created double charging stations and the three portable chargers, embarked on their maritime journey from the port of Lianyungang in the Jiangsu province of China on February 4th and, after 26 days, on March 1st, they arrived at the port of Thessaloniki.
“The OASTH, this significant and historic organisation of Thessaloniki, is once again leading the way. With the invaluable assistance of the political leadership of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, we are renewing our fleet and introducing electrification to public transportation. A new era in Thessaloniki’s urban transportation has arrived. In the coming weeks, electric buses will start operating, changing the landscape of transportation,” noted Kostas Tzangiris, the president and CEO of the organisation.
Emphasising that the effort to provide quality services to Thessaloniki’s passengers continues, Mr. Tzangiris recalled that OASTH has hired 150 drivers and mentioned that another 40 will follow. In this context, he stressed: “Gradually, over the next two to three years, the entire OASTH bus fleet will be renewed as the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport proceeds with a new tender for the procurement of 750 buses with anti-pollution technology, of which approximately 250 will come to Thessaloniki. Thessaloniki’s urban transportation is being modernised, and the daily lives of passengers are being upgraded. The best is yet to come,” he added.
The tests are conducted with passengers… sacks of sand weighing 2.5 tons
During this period, as noted by organisation officials, the trial run of six electric buses is taking place, none of which have encountered any issues so far. It was emphasised that “each of the six buses is loaded with sacks of sand weighing 2.5 tons. This weight corresponds to a half-loaded bus and will be carried throughout the duration of the trials. Their completion will occur once each has covered 5,000 kilometers, estimated to be by the end of April.” Immediately afterwards, the buses will be transferred from the Greek State to OASTH.
Additionally, the installation of telematics and ticket validation machines has already begun, while the process for installing issuing machines is underway, aiming to issue tickets with electronic payments within the urban area.
Subsequently, the electric buses will receive license plates and insurance, and “by May, the relevant procedures will have been completed, and services will commence,” as emphasised.
The six buses are charged by two chargers, temporarily located at the OASTH depot in Stavroupoli. In the following weeks, once the trials are completed, the two chargers will be moved to an adjacent plot, where the charging station for the 110 electric buses is under construction, and the 55 chargers will be permanently installed.
