It will take considerable time before Athens’ recently acquired fleet of 140 electric buses is fully operational on the city’s streets. Officials from the Ministry of Transport indicate a late August or early September timeline for their complete integration into the transport system. Until then, the new buses will gradually hit the roads in phases.
The total order, comprising 250 buses from the Chinese e-bus manufacturer Yutong, includes 140 vehicles for Athens and 110 for Thessaloniki. Each bus carries a net price tag of 440,720 euros, and the entire order, including seven chargers, amounts to 110.8 million euros, placed in October of the previous year.
While the Ministry of Transport announced last Friday that “All 140 electric buses have been integrated into the capital’s transport project, with 46 buses serving citizens for the first time, and their number expected to double in the coming weeks,” the reality paints a different picture. Out of the 140 buses, only 46 are currently circulating, with the remaining 94 parked at bus garages, expected to hit the roads in late August or early September.
The primary reason for this operational delay is the incomplete installation of permanent charging infrastructure. Although the operating company OSY has procured 140 electric buses from China, the permanent installation of charging stations, essential for their smooth operation and circulation on Athens’ streets, has yet to be finalized. In an interim solution, OSY has constructed a temporary facility with 10 EV chargers at terminals, which is insufficient to charge the entire fleet. Consequently, only 32 of the 140 buses have been put into trial operation for a month.
The ministry attributes the project’s delays, which involve installing 70 slow-charging appliances with two sockets at four terminals, to clarifications requested by the State Audit Council. A ministry source explains, “While the project in Thessaloniki needs just 35 days to complete, in Athens, the court delayed us for comments and clarifications, so we are 1.5 months behind Thessaloniki.”
Furthermore, the tender calling itself was delayed, with the deadline for submitting bids, after an initial postponement, set for early January. According to the announcement, the time allotted to complete supply and installation is three months from the proclamation date.