Source: Nexobús
Zaragoza will receive 18,458,001 euros from the second call of the "Program of aid to municipalities for the implementation of low-emission zones and the digital and sustainable transformation of urban public transport", within the framework of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan financed by the European Union-NextGenerationEU. This aid will allow to continue with the planned plan for the electrification of the urban bus fleet with the acquisition of 40 more vehicles that will be added to the 68 already financed with the first call for aid.
In addition, the provisional resolution of these grants, which was published on April 28, will facilitate the implementation of a new public bicycle service, which will replace the current Bizi, almost doubling its capacity and for which electric bicycles will be available.
112 electric buses on the road
In the case of electric buses, the fund requested (granted in full) is 8,900,000 euros. The aim of this action is to continue with the objective of electrifying the bus fleet of the city of Zaragoza with the incorporation of another 40 electric buses, which will be divided into 25 buses of 12 meters and 15 buses of 18 meters (articulated). This acquisition of 40 units will increase to 31.8% the percentage of electric vehicles in the public transport bus fleet, divided into 80 12-meter buses and 32 18-meter buses, bringing us closer to achieving the goal of electrifying 100% of the fleet.
In addition, the 2,994,233.82 euros requested to complete the electrification of the transport operations center through the installation of 40 more charging points in depots have been granted. The action represents a continuation of the 2021 call for proposals, adding the aforementioned charging points to the 75 already existing and in operation.
The Councilor for Public Services and Mobility, Natalia Chueca, welcomed the granting of this new aid package, "which once again demonstrates the soundness and relevance of the projects presented by this Government to the various calls for European Funds". Chueca recalled that the 40 future electric buses will be added to the 68 that are already in operation or being manufactured, as well as the 4 that were already in service previously: "As we announced at the time, Zaragoza will not incorporate buses with combustion engines to its fleet, but rather all the new vehicles will be electric. We will thus have 112 electric buses circulating in our city, almost a third of the entire fleet".