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The Government of Costa Rica announced during the official presentation of the First Latin American Congress on Sustainability, Ecology and Evolution (SEE), which will take place in Parque Viva, September 26 through the 28, the implementation of a trial project involving electric buses.
Three electric buses, or e-buses, will transit the roads of Costa Rica in 2019 thanks to a project promoted by several institutions, among them, the Ministry of Environment and Energy, the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, Grupo ICE, the German Cooperation for Development, GIZ, the Foundation Costa Rica-USA for Cooperation, the UN’s Environmental Program, bus operators, Promerica Bank, Inter-American Development Bank and Non-Government Institutions Costa Rica Limpia and Asomove.
The buses and respective charging stations will be product of a donation of 2.5 million Euros by the German Government and $1 million USD by the Foundation CRUSA with the objective of helping the country in its efforts to battle Climate Change and as one of the proposed actions to implement activities in Sustainable Urban Mobility.
According to the Minister of Environment, Carlos Manuel Rodriguez, this is an important step in the goals the country has to reach carbon neutrality, “The transport sector represents 68% of the emissions”. Operating e-buses would contribute in the reduction of the contamination, improving the quality of the air, and the health of the population.
The UN Environmental Program has estimated that in the case of the city of San Jose, the benefits accumulated in moving to electric mobility in a 25% of the public service fleet by 2030 could translate in a reduction of 389 tons of CO2eq, savings of $316 million in fuel consumption and the prevention of 108 deaths related to air contamination.
“For the Foundation CRUSA, this project is of vital important due to the positive impact that it will have in the lives of Costa Rican citizens. Our program strategy 2018-2022 is centered in initiatives of wide scalability potential, with the implementation of electric buses in public transportation being one of our priorities, and the challenges that our country faces to reach carbon-neutrality and a substantial improvement in the wellness of the country”, commented David Gutierrez, President of the Foundation CRUSA.
The project will evaluate the performance of the new buses in the reality of Costa Rican roads, and will be based in the best international practices.
