TMB launches tender for Barcelona’s largest order of electric buses

Credit: Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona

Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB) has announced that it has opened the tender process to acquire up to 83 battery-powered electric buses, which, in 2023, will replace diesel-powered vehicles that have reached the end of their lifespan.

President of TMB, Laia Bonet, said: “This is the largest purchase of electric vehicles for public transport in the Barcelona area and an important step in the adoption of green energy for mobility.”

The tender, recently opened in agreement with the Autoritat del Transport Metropolità (ATM), is for 100 per cent electric and zero-emission vehicles for a total of 65 units, with the possibility of increasing this to 83 depending on the funding and grants available. The tender is divided into three lots: two of the lots are standard size cars (12m) with night load per pantograph, of which 45 units will be contracted, which can be expanded to 63. The third lot consists of 20 articulated units (18m in length) for overnight pantograph charging or other technologies.

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The tender specifications outline that the vehicles will have to be delivered in different shipments between April and September 2023. The basic budget of the tender amounts to €58.3 million.

Currently, the TMB fleet includes 30 fully electric buses, all articulated and fast loading by pantograph, which serve the H16 line, and has been fully electric since Summer 2021.

Next steps for the transport operator will be the electrification of two more high-demand lines, H12 and V15, for which TMB has contracted the supply of 29 more 100 per cent electric articulated buses and the necessary cargo infrastructure.

Furthermore, 49 standard size, night charging electric cars are also being manufactured to convert zero-demand lines into zero-emission without having to install on-street charging infrastructure. The eight hydrogen battery vehicles that are in the process of being delivered to TMB are also electrically powered.

With the units covered by this tender arriving in 2023, electrification of multiple lines will continue without the need to install on-street chargers, but at depots, where buses will fill their batteries to offer next-day service. By the end of 2023, TMB will have up to 200 electrically powered buses, with the addition of various technologies – including fast- and slow-charging batteries and hydrogen cells.

“With the commitment to the electrification of bus lines, we will make it possible to reduce CO₂ emissions by 17,000 tonnes, which we have set for 2025, and we are in line with the goals of decarbonisation and sustainable development,” said President Bonet.

Electrification is at the heart of TMB’s plan for the environmental renewal and upgrade of urban buses in Barcelona and the metropolitan area, and is one of the main aims of its Strategic Plan 2025.