Tender process consolidates Santiago as a world leader in electromobility by incorporating 1,267 new electric buses

Press release from the Ministry of Transport and Telecommunications of Chile

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

The Evaluation Committee concluded this Monday the Economic and Final Evaluation Stage of the offers, by publishing the minutes that include the proposal for the award of the Tender for the Concession of Use of Roads . This process included the analysis of the 86 offers received and proposed awarding the five Service Units in the competition.

According to the Economic and Final Evaluation Act, the proposed award for the five Service Units, which represent 30% of the Network System, is as follows:

Service Unit	Company
US14	I'm going to Santiago SPA
US15	I'm going to Santiago SPA
US16	Gran Americas Investment Company SAS
US17	Conecta Consortium
US18	Conecta Consortium

Ten months after the start of the Tender for the Use of Roads, with the publication of the tender rules, the Ministry of Transport and Telecommunications is completing the evaluation stage of the process that will allow the incorporation of 1,267 electric buses that will operate from 23 terminals, of which 3 are currently electric and 20 will be implemented as such.

“With the implementation of this tender, more than 50% of the fleet will be equipped with electric buses, which will allow users to enjoy better quality, universal accessibility, safety and comfort during their journeys. In total, the tender includes 121 routes, benefiting more than 3.5 million people from 32 municipalities in the Metropolitan Region, such as La Granja, San Miguel, San Ramón, La Florida and Pedro Aguirre Cerda, among others,” said the Minister of Transport and Telecommunications, Juan Carlos Muñoz.

The gradual implementation of Tender 2 is expected to begin during the second half of 2025, once the Comptroller General of the Republic has taken note of the award resolution issued by the Ministry of Transport and Telecommunications and the respective contracts have been signed.

Paola Tapia, Director of Metropolitan Public Transport , said that “this marks the end of a process that confirms Santiago as a world-leading city in electromobility. There was broad interest and participation from the industry, generating competition among operators, bus manufacturers, charging infrastructure providers and financing. Thus, after completing the respective process, two new operating companies will enter the Red System.”

Tender Features

At the beginning of 2023, a Citizen Participation process was carried out, in which 15,300 people participated through 3 mechanisms: surveys, citizen dialogues and workshops with interest groups. The dialogues took place in 20 communes of Greater Santiago and were attended by more than 500 residents. Additionally, an unprecedented Market Consultation was carried out for bus manufacturers. All the information collected in these previous stages was considered for the preparation of the bases.

The inclusion of surveillance cameras in buses is noteworthy, in order to provide security to drivers and users, and the promotion of the incorporation of women in the capital's public transport system, as well as an increase in universal accessibility.

The concession period will be 10 years, which may be reduced to 7 years in case of non-compliance with requirements or extended to 14 years when there is compliance with indicators in the delivery of quality of service.