Yutong’s hybrid vehicle joins bus fleet as Uruguay’s capital focuses on sustainability

With an eye to promoting a sustainable public transit network, Uruguay’s capital Montevideo has incorporated the first Chinese-made hybrid vehicle into its bus fleet.

The bus, which is powered by a combination of diesel and electricity, saves on fuel and cuts down on carbon dioxide emission, making it both cost effective and environmentally friendly.

The goal is “to benefit society by improving mass transit” with “sustainable models,” said Daniel Martinez, the mayor of Montevideo, during a ceremony outside City Hall earlier this week to unveil the vehicle.

“The transportation of the future is electric,” Daniel Martinez added.

Attending the event were Transport Minister Victor Rossi, representatives of Yutong, China’s leading bus manufacturer, and Cooperativa de Obreros y Empleados del Transporte Colectivo (COETC), the cooperative that operates Montevideo's bus fleet, among others.

Rossi said the new vehicle represented a “transcendent” step toward preserving the environment.

Martinez said that a public-private partnership made it possible to modernize the city’s transit network. Incorporating the hybrid into the fleet “shows the alignment between public and private players,” said Martinez.

The bus, expected to save the operator, the city and ultimately the commuters 30 percent in fuel costs, will run on different routes while the COETC assesses its performance.

Deputy Minister of Industry and Energy Guillermo Moncecchi said his agency will monitor the trial runs so it can formulate policy based on the data.

Following the presentation, officials and guests boarded the hybrid vehicle for a test drive.

In December, the federal government inaugurated Latin America’s first “Electric Route,” a 300-kilometer tract of highway that links the western city of Colonia with Montevideo and Punta del Este to the east, which has with charging stations at 60-km intervals for electric cars and other vehicles.

In 2016, Uruguay generated as much as 95 percent of its energy from renewable sources like water, wind and solar power, according to official sources.