Test of the first electric bus

Following the licensing of the first electric taxi company, the first bus test has also started on the streets of the capital, marking another important step towards a green revolution. Minister of Infrastructure and Energy Damian Gjiknuri, Minister of Tourism and Environment Blendi Klosi and Tirana Mayor Erion Veliaj participated in the testing of the first electric bus at the Kinostudio – Kombinat line in cooperation with the Polish company Solaris. These buses are expected to offer a better service to citizens, lower costs and at the same time lower pollution levels in the capital.

Mayor Veliaj stated that Tirana is in the avant-garde development and that through new electrical transport will be ranked among the first capitals in Europe to undertake this initiative. “What is happening today in Tirana is what was happened yesterday in Paris, where the city officials were testing two buses running on the Paris lines. Rather than filling Tirana with trawling or technology dating to the 1970s, now that we have decided to develop, let’s get to the cutting edge technology, the most avant-garde today. Tirana is avant-garde. I am glad that we are in this first band of cities that are heading towards this development, “Veliaj said, adding that although initially such initiatives spark debates, the Municipality of Tirana has shown that they have produced fantastic results for the capital. “We just licensed the first taxi company in Tirana. We have several charging stations, underground parking lots. All of these things are essentially the result of the bold decisions that have produced the debate, but in a short time we have seen the benefits, “he said.

Minister of Infrastructure and Energy Damian Gjiknuri congratulated the Municipality of Tirana for this important step set in the field of public transport. “I really want to congratulate the Municipality of Tirana for this bold initiative, which certainly has challenges inside and requires a well-thought-out project, which means that the Albanian government must also think about how to incitivate more working vehicles with electricity as vehicles that address pollution issues, as well as the objectives we have regarding electricity efficiency. It is the first test, we understand the economic advantages, why not with the support of donors, but also the role that the Albanian government will play in transport efficiency projects, through ecological transport with electricity buses. I will engage together with the Mayor to do everything in this direction and I really want to say “well done” to Erion for this first initiative, “Gjiknuri said.

Minister of Tourism and Environment Blendi Klosi thanked Mayor Veliaj for undertaking this initiative that contributes to a cleaner environment. “An effort that not only realizes a purity of the moment, but it thinks more long-term for the years and generations to come,” Klosi declared.

The Municipality of Tirana is also planning a review of the current legislation, while promising that in cooperation with the central government, there will be facilities to encourage the use of electric transport.

The head of the Municipality assured that within a short time all public transport will be revolutionized by being modernized by electric buses. Veliaj asked the existing operators to modernize their fleet, and warned and set up a fleet of buses from the Municipality of Tirana itself. “We will set up a public transport company if we do not answer private companies. What we will ask is that gradually, by 10-20 percent, we will ask each year for a part of the fleet to return to the buses. No one claims that they will be changed every year, but it is important to look at the companies that have made the orders, to help with the Polish government, or with other governments. With EBRD colleagues, we are doing the plan of the green city of Tirana, where Tirana has been selected as one of the pilot cities. Hence, also the EBRD or others would have an interest in financing private operators in this gradual shift of the fleet, Veliaj said, while stated that some areas of the capital have started work on the installation of electric vehicle charging points.