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To provide more travel conveniences for local citizens and effectively solve the problems for the people living in the communities without public transport, BAIC Foton has specially rolled out a new electric bus measuring 6 meters, which is expected to be off production line in October and will be immediately put into operation on mini-bus routes in Beijing. According to sources, the capital city bought its first batch of 100 units 6-meter electric buses, 60 units of which are branded with Foton.
With high agility, Foton 6-meter electric buses are highly adaptable on the narrow roads and is capable of loading 35 passengers. The vehicle is particularly suitable for short-distance mini-bus routes. According to Liu Guoqiang, Deputy General Manager of Foton AUV, eight to ten vehicles will be put on each bus routes. As the recharging posts are still to be installed in place, the delivery time is delayed to October. In addition, the vehicle can be fully recharged in 15 minutes. Thanks to this, every mini-bus route only need one recharging post. Currently, every electric bus is entitled to enjoy 300,000 RMB subsidies, so the purchasing price is cut to approximately 400,000 RMB, even lower than a traditionally fuel-powered bus. What’s more, Foton eco-friendly bus further helps its operator save a fairly large amount of fuel costs.
Currently, the bus fleet in Beijing is mainly composed of 18-meter articulated buses and 12-meter buses. Still, the mini-buses on short-distance bus routes with less loading capacity in major living communities are still in short supply. Foton AUV 6-meter electric buses are believed to further improve the bus fleet structure in the capital, providing more convenience for local citizens traveling between metro stations and their living communities. Compared with the normal battery-powered bus which enjoys a lot of popularity now, Foton AUV 6-meter bus still needs higher operating costs. For this reason, the marketization of the vehicle is still yet to be proved.