South Africa: 'No Time for Trial and Error' As Cape Town's Mayor Leads Green Push

South Africa: 'No Time for Trial and Error' As Cape Town's Mayor Leads Green Push
In January I wrote about Cape Town acquiring ten electric buses that are due to go into service in the city later this year. This will be the first electric bus service in South Africa.

Not only is the city going to be using emission free public transport, they are also implementing many other clean energy projects.

Cape Town Mayor Patricia De Lille emphasizes some of the advantages of the forthcoming electric bus service in the city.

"They're going to save us a lot of money. Our maintenance budget will be cut by 60 percent, as they're very easy to maintain. And to recharge the batteries we're also going to use solar energy."

As with all electric vehicles, not only are they cheaper to power than an ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) vehicle, they require much less maintenance as there are far less moving parts and they require no change of oil or filters like an ICE vehicle. Even if they were to use electricity off the grid they'd be spending a lot less than they presently do on diesel, but if they are directly using solar energy to charge the batteries than that's even better. Everyone who uses public transport would like it to be cheaper and this is a step in the right direction of making that a reality.