South Africa’s first active electric bus has officially been launched in Cape Town. Golden Arrow Bus Services earlier this year started testing two fully electric buses to determine the viability of a carbon-neutral fleet.
Sufficient testing has now been done and as of this month, the buses will be incorporated into Golden Arrow’s day-to-day operations, carrying passengers between Retreat and Cape Town. It all started in 2017 Golden Arrow’s renewable energy journey started in 2017 with the pilot installation of two solar plants of 25 kilowatts each. The results were encouraging and ultimately led to two of its facilities being declared carbon neutral in 2020. Given the success of projects to date, Golden Arrow decided to take on its next project, testing an electric bus. The company partnered with Chinese bus manufacturer Build Your Dreams (BYD) and uYilo to test two 100% electric buses for a 12-month period. One bus was tested without passengers, while the other was loaded with sandbags, equivalent to 44 passengers in weight. According to GABS, from July 2021 the two electric buses have been incorporated into Golden Arrow’s day-to-day operations, carrying passengers between Retreat and Cape Town. Western Cape Transport MEC Daylin Mitchell said that his department was working with Golden Arrow on a number of technology solutions to improve public transport in the province. “My department endorses innovation programmes such as this one given the challenges our commuters experience in the absence of the passenger rail system. The narrative around safety on Golden Arrow buses is very different. After taking a ride in this bus, I’m confident that the passengers will feel safe during their journey.”