The City of Cape Town announced this week that its first electric bus had arrived from Johannesburg. It said the prototype e-bus will be piloted on a variety of routes in the coming weeks to determine its performance on steep inclines and downhill, in the city environment with many stop-and-goes, in heavy traffic during peak periods and when travelling longer distances.

All in all, the City will take delivery of 38 low-floor battery-electric buses as part of the roll-out of the MyCiti bus service to the metro south-east, it said.

The buses are expected to arrive during the current calendar year, with the fleet earmarked for operational roll-out in 2027, the City said.

“The MyCiti service is now 16 years old,” said Rob Quintas, Mayco member for Urban Mobility. “The arrival of our e-bus is a major highlight on this journey and supports our transition towards a cleaner, more sustainable public transport system that is not only more cost-effective to operate and maintain, but more resilient.”

Routes

The prototype bus is branded in familiar MyCiti colours and will be tested on several routes across Cape Town, including Hospital Bend, the N2 highway, in Camps Bay and wherever else appropriate, along other routes such as Polkadraai Road and Jip de Jager Drive.

The electric-bus research is undertaken in collaboration with the University of Cape Town to test how the e-bus performs on different route profiles, and is funded by the City, through a grant from the Urban Electric Mobility Initiative, it said.

According to the City, said the pilot will assess battery performance, energy consumption, charging times, passenger loading, route profiles and the impact of Cape Town’s climate on vehicle performance. It said the findings will assist it in refining operational planning, including charging strategies, maintenance requirements, driver training, infrastructure readiness and fleet deployment.

“The research will help us understand how the electric buses will perform in our local context, and what challenges we need to consider before we roll out the e-bus fleet in 2027,” said Quintas.

If all goes as planned, the first e-buses will start operating by 1 July 2027 between Mitchells Plain and Khayelitsha, Wynberg and Claremont as well as the Cape Town CBD.

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