Bucharest ordered 130 hybrid buses

The Romanian capital Bucharest has ordered 130 hybrid buses from Mercedes-Benz. Deliveries of the Citaro Hybrid are scheduled to take place between May 2020 and January 2021. Bucharest also plans to procure 100 battery-electric buses, 100 trolleybuses and 100 trams.

The order, which will be financed from the EU budget, complements the 400 diesel buses ordered last autumn. The city was heavily criticized for ordering the diesel buses from the Turkish manufacturer Otokar.

The Romanian capital has fallen behind a number of regional cities in the fight against environmental pollution. So far, the Transylvanian city of Cluj is the regional leader and currently operates 41 electric buses. By 2025, the entire fleet should be travelling in the city in an environmentally friendly manner. Bucharest, on the other hand, has not yet defined a goal for the conversion to emission-free public transport. With the order of 130 electric buses the first step seems to have been taken at least now.

But the 130 hybrid buses are not the only ones. Bucharest is also planning to purchase 100 battery buses, 100 trolleybuses and 100 trams. These orders are currently still in various evaluation phases.

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