Cape Town - The Golden Arrow Bus Services (GABS) wants to increase the number of its electric buses, and by guaranteeing that some of the components are produced locally, it hopes to foster job growth.
The company began testing two electric buses in December 2020, and noticed significant energy savings of between 60 and 70%.
The move by Golden Arrow comes at a time when its services are often disrupted by violence and damage resulting from taxi industry strikes, as was the case earlier this week.
Speaking to CapeTalk radio station, its spokesperson Bronwen Dyke-Beyer, said the bus company had committed to acquiring more electric buses in light of the rising cost of diesel and was determined to move away from fossil fuels.
“It's going to take some time but we think its time to start making that move.
“An electric bus costs about three times as much as an internal combustion engine bus but the savings over time recoups that and we are very excited,“ she said.
Dyke-Beyer said that Golden Arrow has more than 1,100 internal combustion engine buses operating in the Mother City and was hoping to start introducing over 60 electric buses per year from 2024.
She added that they want to start introducing electric buses by the end of 2023, and would work with local partners to build the bus bodies whilst importing the chassis, probably from China.
“We would be creating jobs within South Africa. There's no reason why we can't build these [bus] bodies here and we want to get that skill here in South Africa,” Dyke-Beyer added.
IOL