MyCiTi’s first battery-electric bus arrives in Cape Town

CAPE TOWN - The City of Cape Town’s first electric bus arrived from Johannesburg, where the bodies of the MyCiTi electric bus fleet are being manufactured. This prototype e-bus will be piloted on a variety of routes in coming weeks to determine its performance on steep inclines and downhill, in the city environment with many stop-and-goes, in heavy traffic during peak periods, and when travelling longer distances.

All-in-all, the City will take delivery of 38 low-floor battery-electric buses as part of the roll-out of the MyCiTi bus service to the metro-south east.

The buses are expected to arrive during the current calendar year with the fleet earmarked for operational roll-out in 2027. These are 12-metre Volvo BZRLE battery-electric buses and the first MyCiTi buses where the bodies have been designed in South Africa and locally manufactured in Gauteng.

The MyCiTi service is now 16 years old. The arrival of our first e-bus is a major highlight in this journey and supports our transition towards a cleaner, more sustainable public transport system that is not only more cost-effective to operate and maintain, but more resilient. Some countries operating e-buses have noted a reduction of up to 70% in operating costs. We are eager to see how this bus performs in our local environment in coming weeks, in particular as we are operating in an increasingly volatile global energy market,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Urban Mobility, Councillor Rob Quintas.