By Benny Barak
This green that spring brings us, which makes us feel good and indicates renewal and refreshment - characterizes Egged – and not only in the spring: Our vehicle fleet, which is also painted green – is going to be greener... and the meaning is not only regarding the color of our buses, but with respect to a revolutionary change in the propulsion systems of the city buses: The diesel engines, even those that meet the Euro 6 standard and are considered “green” and non-polluting – will give way in the coming years to electric city buses that are “green all year round”...
By the end of the year, 235 electric city buses are expected to travel on the roads – 175 in the Haifa metropolis (of which 100 new electric buses are in the Krayot branch and 50 new ones in the Carmel branch), 50 new electric buses in the Rishon Lezion branch and 10 buses in Jerusalem.
“Ladies and Gentlemen – A Revolution”
“Even for us at Egged, who already have experience, since 2017, with the operation of 35 electric buses in Haifa and Jerusalem – this is a real revolution” - states Nir Landau, the manager of Egged’s procurement division. The intake of hundreds of electric buses is not at all similar to the intake of buses with diesel engines. It is about the need to prepare an expensive and complex infrastructure to charge the batteries of these buses and to prepare an appropriate infrastructure in the garages so that they can handle the electric buses.
It would be prudent to remember that, according to the regulator’s directives – starting in 2026, it will not be possible to purchase diesel-powered city buses at all and we must already prepare for this revolutionary change,” says Landau.
So it is clear to everyone why in the big dense and traffic-heavy metropolises (Gush Dan, Haifa and the Krayot and Jerusalem) there is a need for electric buses that do not emit pollutants and preserve the health of the residents and citizens who come to the big cities whether for work or recreation.
But what about the peripheral areas? Are they stepchildren? So we have good news for the residents of the periphery. They are not neglected either: The National Authority for Public Transportation, together with Egged, decided to run a sort of pilot program, the goal of which is to turn cities that are not among the big metropolises into “green cities”. This means that urban public transport in those cities will soon be carried out solely by electric buses.
Dimona and Carmiel are being Painted Green
“We decided, in joint forums of Egged and the Public Transport Authority and in cooperation with the mayors, to start promoting the “Green Cities” project in two cities: Carmiel in the north and Dimona in the south,” Nir Landau states. These two cities were chosen because the urban public transport in them is conducted by means of a relatively small number of buses – 30 in each city, therefore the investment required to prepare a charging infrastructure is not particularly large either.
It is estimated that within a relatively short period of time of one to one and a half years, it will be possible to implement these plans. We have garnered the support and assistance of the mayors in these two cities - which helps to promote the plans.
Recently, a “kick-off meeting” of the project was held in Dimona (which will be the first in which the program will be implemented) with the participation of Nir Moshe, Senior Director of the Planning and Measurement Division at the Public Transport Authority, Avi Friedman, Chairman and CEO of Egged, and Benny Biton, Mayor of Dimona.
In Phase 2 of the project, there is an intention to also replace the buses traveling on the Dimona – Be’er Sheva line (suburban line) with electric buses. The project will be managed by Ilana Tamar Sirkis, the Director of the Structural Engineering Department at the Planning and Development Division at Egged. “And if the steering wheel is in Ilana’s hands – I have no doubt that we will reach our destination in the best way...", Nir Landau compliments Ilana.
The charging infrastructure for the electric buses in Dimona will be built on land owned by Egged and construction will begin soon. It is estimated that the electric buses in the green Dimona – will start moving towards the beginning of 2023. Carmiel will turn green a little later. The charging infrastructure will be built on land owned by the state, while the construction of the electrification infrastructure will be carried out by Egged. The success of these two projects will be a green light for the “painting” green of additional cities in the peripheral areas that will meet the new model,” says Landau.
The Largest Charging Station Farm in the World is being Built in Haifa
“This is a challenge of intaking about 250 electric buses at Egged by the end of this year, at a time when the global economy is suffering from a crisis in the supply of chips to the automotive industry. This is a very complex project,” Nir adds.
We are already experiencing a slight delay in the delivery of new buses, but we must complete the establishment of the charging infrastructure so that we are ready to take in this large quantity.
Two charging station farms are being established in Haifa where 150 charging stations will be built, of which 130 will be built in the Krayot parking lot. This will be the largest charging station farm in the world. The installation of the stations in the parking lot will be completed towards the beginning of May,” he adds.
50 charging stations are being built in Rishon Lezion which will enable the 50 electric buses that will be installed in the city to be operated already in July.
In Jerusalem, 80 charging stations will be built in the parking lot where the licensing office used to operate, and 20 more charging stations will be built at Kurdani.
In the longer term (during the period 2024 - 2025), more land complexes will be allocated to Egged for the establishment of charging stations, including in the Sorek Triangle, and in the Panorama – Halochamim parking lots, where the “new” central bus station in Tel Aviv is planned to be moved.
This drift in the establishment of charging infrastructures is intended to promote the decision not to allow the importation of diesel-powered city buses starting in 2026.
“I am very proud that we were able to complete the planned purchase of more than 1,000 buses over the past two years, without having to increase Egged’s expenditure for this purchase. It would be prudent to remember that this is a diverse purchase of buses, which includes diesel engine powered buses, electric motor powered buses, accessible buses for the disabled, articulated and premium buses.
This diverse procurement requires supervision – and we were able to comply with it – and for that the division and all the sections and departments at Egged that cooperated – deserve all the accolades for their efforts.
And don't give up on that either...
“So the work is immense and the time is tight,” says Nir Landau, Director of the Purchasing Division, “but I am convinced that with our excellent team and thanks to the cooperation of all the divisions, clusters and facilities – we will meet the goals we have set for ourselves this year as well.”