Every tenth bus in Ostrava will be electric

The Ostrava Transport Company claims that it will have the largest fleet of electric buses in Czechia

This month, the Ostrava Transport Company (DPO) gradually began the introduction of 24 new electric buses with OppCharge technology. According to a press release, the deployment of the vehicles will now make DPO’s electric bus fleet the largest in Czechia. What is more, it means that every tenth bus in Ostrava will be electric. 

Committing to a diesel-free future

Last spring, DPO declared that it would no longer purchase vehicles with compressed natural gas (CNG). In other words, it made a “Diesel-Free” commitment to only use environmentally-friendly vehicles. With the deployment of the 24 electric buses, the DPO will help Ostrava reduce its air pollution as the new buses will reportedly produce up to 700 kilograms less carbon dioxide emissions than CNG buses.

Not surprisingly, the deployment of the electric buses will also be accompanied by new charging stations and networks. Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of DPO Daniel Morys discussed this, sharing:

“We are changing bus transport in Ostrava. The new charging infrastructure at the Hranečník terminal is in the next phase of our strategy and complements the existing charger for electric buses in Ostrava-Svinov. The next part of the plan is to build a charging station on Valchařská Street in the city centre. Ostrava will thus have three strategic points where the electric buses will be charged and from where they will depart to serve the adjacent locations. This will significantly reduce CO2 production in these areas.”

At the turn of 2022, DPO had 292 buses - only 8 of which were electric. At the end of 2022, DPO’s fleet will look very different as it will consist of 227 CNG buses and a whopping 32 electric ones.

The supply of the 24 new vehicles cost less than CZK 308 million (over EUR 12.2 million) without VAT and was reportedly co-financed by EU funds.