ICE begins market analysis requesting samples of interest from electric bus manufacturers

This ICE release was published using machine translation.

This Friday, the Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE) presented –before Authorities and interested companies– the business model that it will promote to incorporate electric buses into public transport. The meeting was held in the Jorge Manuel Dengo building, in Sabana Norte.

The process –national in scope– is led by the Government of the Republic and ICE. The activity was attended by Stephan Brunner, Vice President of the Republic; Eric Bogantes, general regulator, and Marco Acuña, president of Grupo ICE. 11 bus manufacturers, 6 company representatives and 10 consultants participated.

The exhibition served to share the scheme ( carrier leasing ), the possible technical specifications of the units, the preliminary type of electric buses, the infrastructure to provide energy and the technological platforms for charging, among other points ( document available for download at QR code ).

Vice President Brunner pointed out that “we are beginning a path of transformation that is going to change what we have done in recent years in terms of transportation. We are going to recover users who will approach electrical technology. This is an important action towards sustainable mobility in the country and our support is total”.

For his part, Bogantes indicated that “electrifying public transportation will be a fundamental step in the quality of life of Costa Ricans, and also, an effort that will attract more passengers. We are committed to participating in this new process and developing the necessary tariff tools”.

Finally, Acuña stated that “the experience of Grupo ICE in the operation of electric buses began with a pilot plan on three different routes. We demonstrate savings of 80% in the purchase of energy compared to combustion buses. With today's announcement, we will promote the generation of social, economic and environmental value”.

On July 14, the Government and ICE will receive the requested information. Based on these inputs, the conditions that the country could have to provide the leasing service to the operators will be evaluated. With this analysis, the next steps will be defined to meet the objective of modernizing public transport.