Odessa plans to purchase 100 electric buses to replace part of its diesel transport. Along with the restoration of tram services, the city is considering further improvements to transport with international financial support. This was reported by Odessa Life.
Electric Buses for Odessa: The City Plans to Purchase 100 Units
The intention to replace part of the diesel buses was announced by Olga Lozova, deputy head of the Odessa City Military Administration. She outlined the plans at the international forum on the Reconstruction of Ukraine: security, opportunities, investments in Bucharest.
«We plan to replace diesel buses with modern electric buses – we intend to purchase 100 units», - Lozova stated.
To implement the project, the city hopes to attract international financing. However, no specific agreements on funding allocation were announced in the report.
Currently, the following remain unclear:
- the total cost of the purchase;
- the timeline for purchasing and delivering the electric buses;
- specific sources of financing;
- the routes on which the buses will operate.
Therefore, this is a declared investment intention. There are currently no grounds to speak about signed contracts or a specified date for the electric buses to be operational.
Transport upgrades are planned in a city where transportation has already faced restrictions due to energy supply problems. In particular, after Russian attacks, changes had to be made to the operation of Odessa's electric transport.
Odessa's Tram Infrastructure: Which Other Projects Seek Support
In addition to electric buses, the city plans to modernize tram tracks and traction substations. These facilities ensure the operation of electric transport and also require funding.
For transport and other infrastructure projects, Odessa is considering grants from the European Union and cooperation with international financial institutions. What portion of the costs could be covered by partners is not yet specified.
The purchase of rolling stock and the upgrade of the network remain separate areas of planned work. The final scales and timelines will depend on the attraction of funds and further decisions by the city.
The importance of energy infrastructure has already been manifested during outages: due to equipment failure, routes in Odessa were temporarily altered, and later the movement of electric transport was restored. The current plan anticipates seeking support for both the buses and the transport infrastructure.