Galway could soon have electric buses on city routes under NTA acquirement plans Galway Senator Seán Kyne has said.
The National Transport Authority is seeking a supplier for up to 200 electric buses for public transport routes.
The NTA is seeking responses from perspective suppliers by the end of June for an agreement that would last an initial two and a half years with an option to extend for a further two and a half years.
“Electric buses are already widely used in China and are growing in popularity in European cities as well as closer to home in the UK.”
“Some services are powered through overhead cables but many more are battery operated,” Seán Kyne said.
Senator Kyne added that the timing of the contract sought “coincides with work to expand and enhance Galway’s public transport services”.
This includes the creation of Bus Connects, a network of five “high performing cross city routes” envisioned in Project Ireland 2040.
While plans are already developing to roll out double-decker hybrid diesel/electric buses in Dublin, this proposed supply agreement focuses on single-deck, long length buses.
The proposal also “references Galway’s two main public transport bus operators – Bus Éireann and City Direct,” Senator Kyne added.
If brought to Galway these could help deliver “sustainable growth but also in making Galway a better and cleaner place in which to live, work or visit.”
