BYD wins second order from Israel. 7 ebuses for Jerusalem

The first full electric buses for Jerusalem will be manufactured by BYD. The China based company received an order for seven 12 metre ebuses, based on an earlier tender won by BYD in 2016. Seventeen buses were supplied to Haifa, a port city in the north of Israel, and have been in operation with public transport operator Egged since mid-2017.

The ambitious plan of Israel government

Egged manage public transport also in Jerusalem. Apparently, the experience in Haifa must have been successful, since a follow-up order has been placed. The order is part of a larger project, fully supported by the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Environment in Israel, and, BYD reports in a press release, serves as a spearhead for experimenting and introducing technology for alternative transportation in the public transportation market in Israel. It is the basis for a green revolution in the field of electric public transportation in metropolitan centres. As reported on Electrive in 2016, the country wishes to clean the air with the government spending about 57m dollars on initiatives for electric mobility and more.

The second BYD order from Israel

The new electric buses are by BYD are expected to be delivered in the first quarter of 2019. Isbrand Ho, Managing Director at BYD Europe, said: “We are on a winning streak. In the past weeks we confirmed orders for Italy (where 13 short electric buses will be running in Messina by the end of the year, editor’s note) and Norway and we are now pleased to announce our second order for Israel. And there is more to come. The 17 buses that have been running in Haifa for almost a year are performing very well in the hilly and hot area and we are sure that these seven buses will live up to that.”