The Toledo City Council presented this Thursday a model of the tthree new electric buses which will be part of the urban bus service fleet from October, vehicles that will have a range of 400 kilometers and will be able to offer up to 17 hours of continuous operation.
This is how the city’s mayor explained it, Carlos Velazquezwho, together with the Councilor for Mobility, Transport, Interior and Personnel, Iñaki Jiménez, and Miguel Alconchel on behalf of the company Unauto, participated in the presentation. Velázquez argued that it is “important” to bet on the environment and on vehicles like these that are “totally sustainable and do not pollute”, highlighting the “commitment” of the municipal team to improve the urban bus service.
The mayor said he was “happy” with this renewal of the fleet and compared this presentation with the situation the service was in just a year ago, when in September half of the fleet was deactivated by DANA, which devastated the Unauto facilities.
“Last year, when we had meetings, they were completely different. The point of view is completely different and it is true that pessimism has set in,” acknowledged the first mayor, stressing that “sometimes time passes for the worst, but there are times when time passes for the best.”
Some vehicles which cost 600,000 euros, covered by aid of 1,800,000 euros from European funds.
In addition to these three buses, the city will also have two other “fully electric” minibuses that will join the city’s fleet at a later date.
For his part, Miguel Alconchel He explained that Unauto is still studying the urban bus lines to which these three buses will be assigned, although he said they are working “on the lines that most need help and reinforcement,” such as the 91 or the 92.
Likewise, regarding the card payment on busessaid they were also working on it and hoped that the first tests could be carried out by the end of the year, so that “at the latest by the beginning of next year we will be able to pay by card.”
Likewise, Alconchel He also referred to the new Unauto app, which is “really finished” but is waiting for a response from Android and Google to make it available for download.
An application that, he detailed, “improves everything” that existed before and will allow actions such as observing buses, seeing arrival times or giving information on different bus combinations. “A transport application like the one that Toledo deserves,” he added.
For his part, the mobility advisor, questioned by the media, declared that the municipal council is still looking for a location to implement the campervan parking in town.
“It’s complicated but yes, we are still looking for a location and we hope to get it as soon as possible,” he commented.
