The Government is offering a non-refundable grant of EUR 3.9bn for the Budapest Transport Company Ltd (BKV) to purchase electric buses, Minister for National Economy Mihály Varga announced yesterday. The agreement on e-mobility development project was signed by Minister Varga and BKV CEO-President Tibor Bolla. The fiscal resources required for the purchasing of electric buses and related infrastructure development will be covered by revenues from Hungary’s CO2 quota sales.
According to the agreement concluded recently, until 15 May 2016 the BKV is to launch twenty new, purely electricity-driven buses made in Hungary. The air-conditioned low-floor buses are driven by three-phase asynchronous motors or engines of an even more highly developed technology. In line with the terms and conditions of the contract, the BKV undertakes to install bus charging points and guarantee proper training for bus drivers and technicians, the Minister pointed out.
As the Minister noted, the treaty concluded at the Paris summit on climate change is in accordance with the policy of the Hungarian Government on promoting e-mobility. The Government has been actively working on a blueprint for promoting and regulating e-mobility for years, and Hungary is the first country in Europe to have adopted a comprehensive e-mobility concept. The implementation of the Ányos Jedlik Plan is expected to reduce the country’s economic vulnerability and create competitive edge through the electronic technology upgrade of road transport.
The Budapest pilot project of an e-bus fleet is only the first step, Mihály Varga stressed: following the assessment of experiences gained during the instalment and operation of buses, electric buses may be used even more widely, probably throughout the country, he added.
(Ministry for National Economy)
