Jerusalem Transit Operator Egged Returns To BYD To Add 10 More Electric Buses

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The largest transit operator in Israel, Egged, added 10 fully electric BYD buses to its fleet this week as the new buses arrived.

The new buses stack onto Egged’s prior experience in Israel with BYD’s buses, having run 17 BYD buses around in its transit network in Haifa since 2017. The new shipment will join 7 BYD electric buses that were brought into Jerusalem in 2018 to start exploring the performance of electric buses in the hilly city.

“The BYD eBus fleet is growing in Jerusalem, as public transport in the city starts moving towards 100% emissions-free, electric mobility,” Mr Asi Shmeltzer, Chairman of BYD’s importer partner in Israel, Shlomo Motors, said.

“The existing fleet of BYD single decks – delivered in 2017 – have performed extremely reliably, delivering high levels of productivity for Egged and offering great appeal to passengers,” he continued. “This latest, larger fleet of BYD eBuses, will make Jerusalem even cleaner, and I’m sure other local authorities will be paying close attention to the continuing success of BYD eBuses in operation.”

After the initial ceremony to celebrate their arrival earlier this week, the new electric buses will immediately be put into service on route 15 in Jerusalem. Route 15 serves central Jerusalem from north to south and will give passengers perhaps their first experience in not just an electric bus, but in an electric vehicle altogether.

The first direct exposure to riding in electric vehicles has shown time and time again to be a key transition point, where consumers can, for the first time, envision what life is like with electric propulsion. It could be the start of a much larger transition in the private vehicle space as well.

“Egged is happy to be part of the change toward electric transportation in Jerusalem,” Chairman of Egged, Avi Fridman said. “Egged sees BYD as a strategic partner on this important path to making our world cleaner.”