HẢI PHÒNG — An electric bus using renewable solar energy will be run on trial basis this year on two main roads of Cát Bà Island in the northern Hải Phòng City.

The free bus service will do four trips a day to serve the needs of tourists.

In 2018, an additional 10 buses will be run on trial. The number will rise to 30 by 2020. During the trial period, the service will be free.

The electric bus project (EV bus project) on Cát Bà Island is one of the 15 green development projects that Hải Phòng City is executing with Kitakyshu City of Japan.

The advantage of running electric buses is that they don’t burn petrol and they don’t have toxic emissions, Kengo Ishida, executive director, Kitakyushu Asian Centre for Low Carbon Society, Environment Bureau of Kitakyshu City, said.

The buses use renewable solar energy to generate power so they don’t discharge carbon dioxide either. The bus battery can be charged even with domestic energy as a standby in case of cloudy skies, he said.

Once it is fully charged, a bus carrying 50 passengers can run non-stop on a 160-km-long journey. Its battery can be replaced in the middle of the trip.

Lê Thanh Sơn, deputy chairman of Hải Phòng City’s People’s Committee, said the city authorities will create favourable conditions so that relevant units can implement the projects quickly. If the electric bus model is effective and relevant, more buses will be added and they will run all through the city.

The city has proposed to the transport ministry to waive the road maintenance fees for buses during the trial run.

The EV bus is the first solar energy-operated public transport project to be implemented in the country. Hải Phòng City is one of the first localities that is trying to conserve resources and using renewable energy to boost economic growth. It aims to become a green port city by 2020. — VNS