Israel's Tel Aviv introduces China's BYD electric buses

Monday"s inauguration ceremony came nearly a year after Dan, which serves Tel Aviv and its suburbs, signed a deal with BYD to purchase some 700 buses. The Israeli firm has earmarked 400 million NIS (about 111 million US dollars) to replace a quarter of its current fleet of 1,300 diesel guzzlers with the electric model over the next five years, according to a press release.

Israeli Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz has reportedly played a key role in the initiative, guiding his ministry to remove restrictions that could delay importation of the new buses, which are pure electric with some models offering a roof-mounted photovoltaic system to generate power.

"The bus meets the target set by government to decrease use of fuel in public transportation by 60 percent," the minister said at the inauguration. "Dan has been serving commuters for the past 60 years and the new version is certainly compatible with the spirit of our age."

Dan said that new buses will begin serving passengers on Tel Aviv"s line No. 5 route on Tuesday.

BYD 12-meter long buses can run up to 250 kilometers on a single charge, which is more than ample for a day"s work on most urban routes, pending normal road conditions. Tel Aviv"s congested streets are likely, however, to lower the "distance per charge" ratio. Recharging will be done during night at Dan garages, with a full recharging cycle completed in 4-5 hours.

BYD, an acronym for "Build Your Dreams," is the world"s largest battery manufacturer, which has become a major player in the global electric bus and car market in recent years.