Valencia. Image courtesy 123rf
The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Valencia’s Empresa Municipal de Transportes (EMT) have signed a €69 million loan to finance the expansion of EMT Valencia’s zero emissions bus fleet, boosting support for sustainable urban public transport.
The project includes the purchase of 145 electric buses to replace the vehicles that have been in service in Valencia for the longest and are nearing the end of their useful life.
The EIB support will also allow EMT Valencia to instal charging and electricity supply infrastructure, fire safety facilities and IT systems, and add new parking spaces to existing garages.
Using electric vehicles and the accompanying infrastructure helps reduce the carbon footprint of transport as well as noise, pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.
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The planned investments will put more zero emissions vehicles on the roads and improve the quality of public transport in Valencia and nearby municipalities, adding a more sustainable alternative to meet the urban mobility needs of residents.
The project is part of the EIB Group’s work to promote more sustainable transport, aligned with its strategic priority of consolidating its position as the Climate Bank.
The operation, adds the Bank, is aligned with their Transport Lending Policy, which prioritises investments to improve the sustainability and resilience of existing transport infrastructure, along with new sustainable mobility projects.
It also marks the latest in efforts from Valencia’s Municipal Transport Company, which at the end of 2023 announced its 2025 to 2030 Master Plan that will analyse new mobility patterns to design routes for the coming years.
At the time of the plan’s announcement, EMT said in a release that by the end of 2024, 26 electric buses and 31 articulated hybrid buses will have arrived at a cost of €29.8 million ($30.7 million), bringing EMT’s total to 48 electric buses and 285 hybrid buses.
