Chinese manufacturer BYD has been celebrating two of the biggest ever electric bus deals.
The first deal will see the company supply 379 pure electric buses to TransMilenio SA – the mass transit authority in Bogotá, Columbia.
The new fleet will be in operation from September 2020 and will, it is claimed, be the largest single fleet of electric buses in South America.
In a separate deal, the Los Angeles Department of Transportation has ordered 130 of BYD’s battery-electric K7M buses – the largest single order of battery-electric buses to date in the United States.
The order fits perfectly with the City of Los Angeles’ “Green New Deal,” a set of sustainability goals that includes converting the entire LADOT fleet to zero-emission buses by 2030. The City of Los Angeles has set a bold goal of converting every city vehicle to zero-emission technology by 2050.
It is estimated the 130 buses will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 8,225 metric tons per year and by 98,700 metric tons over the buses’ 12-year life, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 81% compared to LADOT’s compressed natural gas buses.