First electric buses in Greater Valparaíso begin operations

Press release from the Ministry of Transport and Telecommunications of Chile

This is an automated translation of the press release issued in Spanish

The Minister of Transport and Telecommunications , Juan Carlos Muñoz, together with the Undersecretary of Transport, Jorge Daza, the mayor of the commune, Jorge Sharp, and representatives of the company Trolebuses de Chile, began the operation of the first three of the five electric services that will circulate in the port city.

In this regard, Minister Muñoz said that the arrival of electromobility is “a dream come true for the more than 9,000 inhabitants of this commune. Electric buses are operating in Valparaíso in three services; we are talking about the E02 that connects San Roque Hill with the Barón Metro station, the E03 that connects the Placilla sector with Plaza Victoria and the E04 that runs through Placilla. Within the next few weeks, two more will be added: E01 that will connect Rodelillo with Barón station, and E05 from Playa Ancha to Puerto Station. With this, we are fulfilling President Gabriel Boric's mandate to level the playing field and reduce the gap that exists between the regions and the capital, so that all those who live in our country have public transportation of the highest quality.”

In total, 44 buses will reinforce public transport in areas such as Rodelillo, Placilla, Cerro San Roque and Playa Ancha, and will maintain the particular image of the trolleys. It should be noted that the company Trolebuses de Chile SA will have an eight-year operating contract, with the possibility of being extended for two more years.

From the Valparaíso City Council, Mayor Sharp, while appreciating the start of the operation, highlighted that “this is good news of the day, because finally an announcement in the area of transport is being made. We had -in the city- had announcements after announcements for many years, but we had not seen the materialization of these announcements on the streets of our city. These 44 electric buses therefore break with a trend in terms of transport and generate a standard, which we hope can be maintained for the complete renewal of the entire fleet of public transport.”

Starting in October, the E01, E02, E03, E04 and E05 services will have integrated fares and modes; this means that with the same card, users will be able to access electric or trolleybus services, as well as elevators and Metro Valparaíso, paying a reduced fare when combining two means of transport. In the case of trips on the Cerro-Plan section, the amount will rise to $460, while local fares will reach $360.