Yes, it may seem like there is an error in the title. You’re probably wondering if there were electric public buses in 2006. Let us give the answer before you say it. Yes, it wasn’t there, but it is now there in 2023! Within the scope of the technological green transformation movement, Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality electrified the 2006 model IETT Mercedes-Benz Citaro public bus. Here are the details…
The 2006 model diesel engine is gone, the 2023 model electric engine is here: Here is the electric IETT Citaro!
According to the news of Future Flow Life, one of Turkey’s most important sites in areas such as sustainability and clean energy, Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality emphasizes recycling within the scope of the green technological transformation movement. In this context, a 2006 model Mercedes-Benz Citaro public bus, which had reached the end of its useful life, was electrified by shedding its old and tired diesel engine.
Citaros, which were produced in the early 1997s and have been providing services such as public buses and metrobus in the IETT fleet since 2005, with 450 units, were retired at the end of their difficult working lives on Istanbul lines, leaving their place to Mercedes-Benz Conectos. Some of the vehicles are still working, but most of them are waiting for scrap or spare parts. In short, there is a great national wealth.
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In order to prevent this and save on new vehicle and fuel prices, a different path was taken. A completely refurbished Mercedes-Benz Citaro bus has been fitted with an electric motor. Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality President Ekrem İmamoğlu was at the podium at the presentation of the vehicle, which is expected to provide fuel savings of 1 million 130 thousand TL annually.
Stating that with the project, instead of purchasing a new bus with a market value of 500 thousand euros, they converted a vehicle that has completed its useful life with an investment of 250 thousand euros, İmamoğlu said that 10 more buses will be converted within 5 months within the scope of the project.
The technical details of the vehicle are quite satisfactory. The range of the converted bus is 250 kilometers. The longest line in Istanbul is 500 kilometers and Tuzla-Cevizlibağ is only 77 kilometers. The bus will be charged in 1 hour 45 minutes and can reach a speed of 70 kilometers per hour.
Converted bus batteries have a 5-year range warranty. LiFePO4 (lithium ironphosphate) batteries used in the electric bus will be able to provide 22kW of power in emergency or disaster situations. The old but handsome electric Citaro is currently under the management of Beyza Morgil, one of the 144 female drivers working within IETT.