Electric buses in Moscow

The 500th electric bus entered service in Moscow on 8 October 2020.

Mosgortrans operate the largest electric bus fleet in Europe ahead of London's fleet.[1] As of December 2025, there are over 2700 electric buses operating in Moscow.[2] As of January 2024, they have carried over 400 million passengers.[3] As of July 2024, electric buses serve over 130 routes.[4] The fleet consist of near 1900 of KAMAZ-6282, near 470 of LiAZ-6274, near 350 KAMAZ-52222 and as well as electric minibuses.

History

The first battery electric bus entered the streets of Moscow in the end of 2018. Under the terms of the contracts, in 2018–2019, domestic manufacturers GAZ and KAMAZ supplied 300 electric buses to Moscow. Another 700 electric buses were delivered to Moscow in 2020 and 2021.[5] Thus, Moscow's electric bus fleet reached 1000, and became the largest in Europe, in just 3 years.[6] A further 450 to 500 buses were expected to be delivered in 2022.[7] Mosgortrans noted that the entire bus fleet would be zero-emission by 2030, with the use of electric and hydrogen fuel cell powered buses.[6]

Most of the batteries and propulsion equipment for the Moscow electric buses are made by Drive Electro, which has manufactured and supplied components for 600 of the city's electric vehicles.[8] Moscow plans to completely replace all its diesel and CNG buses with electric buses by 2030, and no more diesel buses will be ordered from 2021 onwards.[9]

In 2022, it was announced that KAMAZ hydrogen fuel cell buses would be piloted in the city.[9] In January 2023, Mayor of Moscow Sergey Sobyanin noted that around 1000 additional buses would be delivered by 2024.[10] Between 2018 and 2023, the introduction of electric buses has reduced СО2 emissions by around 130,000 tons.[11] By July 2024, over 1700 electric buses were in service on around 130 routes.[12][4] By December 2025, there are over 2700 electric buses in service.[2]

Criticism

Even before the launch, the Moscow electric bus project was criticized by experts and passengers, including:

  • High cost – the price of one electric bus ranges from 30 to 56 million rubles, which is 3-4 times more expensive than a trolleybus.[13]
  • Wasting time on charging – electric buses take time to charge (compared to filling with diesel fuel). Buses spend between 8 and 20 minutes at the terminal station to charge the battery, the time in which it could carry passengers. As a result, more buses and drivers are required to ensure a similar output than trolleybuses and diesel buses.[14]
  • The use of an auxiliary diesel heater of the heating system. Mosgortrans specialists claim that the heater is used only at temperatures below 5 °C.[15]
  • Linking to charging stations and the inability to change the endpoints of the route. Representatives of the Moscow Department of Transport noted that switching to an electric bus is convenient because it is not connected to a contact network, which makes it possible to change routes and run them along streets where there are no wires. However, attachment to charging stations makes it impossible to quickly extend the route by several stops (transfer of charging infrastructure is required) or shorten the route in case of any road works.[16][17]
  • The fragility of batteries, as well as the lack of current technology for their disposal.[18][19]
  • Susceptibility to low temperatures. In case of severe cold weather, there are massive absences of electric buses on the line.[20]

Certain serious complaints are also caused by the compliance of this type of transport with the current fire safety requirements, since the electric bus uses electrochemical elements as traction, which are placed along the main part of the roof and occupy up to half of the free space. To date, no fatal accidents have been recorded in the world among passengers of this type of transport, but serious fires ave occurred with passenger cars. One of the first accidents involving an electric bus in Moscow occurred in July 2019 on Budyonny Avenue, as a result of which 12 people were injured from a collision with a passenger car and a tram.[21] It is noted that any impact on batteries, as a rule, negatively affects their remaining service life in the future, and the potential use of extremely worn or damaged battery cells can carry fatal risks of their depressurization with subsequent detonation of all elements on the roof.

Supporters of the preservation of the Moscow trolleybus believe that the introduction of electric buses has one goal — to cover the elimination of the trolleybus.[22] This version is supported by the fact that most of the existing electric bus routes (12 out of 21) were trolleybus routes in the past,[23] and also the fact that the project was seriously discussed only after public outrage over the replacement of trolleybus routes with bus routes.[24]

Experts also believe that switching to trolleybuses is impractical both from a technical and economic point of view, and the choice of charging type is not optimal for Moscow.[25] Calculations by experts have repeatedly shown that using electric buses on routes with an existing contact network is unprofitable and inefficient.[26] The subsequent proposed mass replacement of buses with an internal combustion engine by electric buses, as the latter's service life is exhausted, may further affect the existence of the route network in an established form and lead to a reduction in a number of important directions, which will be compensated only by combining some routes with others or by radically changing the entire route network within the district with linking to terminal transport hubs near metro stations.[27]

At the same time, the Department of Transport has not been able to provide any economic justification for the effectiveness of electric buses with ultrafast charging compared to trolleybuses with increased autonomous travel. The only presentation of the project from 2017 contains figures in which the final maintenance of electric buses is cheaper by 10 %.[28] However, detailed calculations confirming the reliability of these indicators are not presented in the presentation. Moreover, in December 2019, the Baza publication published a letter from Maxim Liksutov to the Ministry of Transport, in which the Department of Transport recognizes that operating an ultrafast electric bus is more expensive than a bus or trolleybus by about one million rubles per year.[29]

Since the launch of the project, the Department of Transport has repeatedly reported on its success.[30][31]

On December 26, 2019, a round table on the topic "Prospects for the development of electric buses and the danger of eliminating trolleybuses" was held in the Moscow City Duma by Daria Besedina, a deputy from the Yabloko Party,[32] at which the participants, which included manufacturers of electric vehicles, representatives of operating enterprises, and transport experts, recognized the inefficiency of the chosen technology for charging electric buses for Moscow. Representatives of the Department of Transport did not attend the event.[33]

  • Electric buses replenish their energy reserves within 6 to 10 minutes using ultra-fast charging stations at terminal stops.
    Electric buses replenish their energy reserves within 6 to 10 minutes using ultra-fast charging stations at terminal stops.
  • LiAZ-6274 operating on route T47
    LiAZ-6274 operating on route T47
  • LiAZ-6274 interior
    LiAZ-6274 interior
  • KAMAZ-6282 operating on route T25
    KAMAZ-6282 operating on route T25
  • KAMAZ-6282 in the winter night
    KAMAZ-6282 in the winter night
  • KAMAZ-6282 interior
    KAMAZ-6282 interior
  • KAMAZ-52222
    KAMAZ-52222

Comparison

  • As of June 2025, Paris has around 1100 zero emission buses, 1300 hybrid buses and 2500 biomethane buses in service.[34]
  • As of June 2025, London has around 3700 hybrid buses, 2000 battery electric buses, and 20 hydrogen fuel cell buses in service.[35][36]
  • As of May 2025, New York City has around 960 hybrid buses, 730 compressed natural gas (CNG) buses and 15 battery electric buses in service.[37]
  • As of March 2025, New Delhi has around 3190 CNG buses and 1250 electric buses in service.[38]
  • As of March 2025, Los Angeles has around 2000 CNG and 50 battery electric buses in service.[39]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Transport for London has more than 2,000 zero-emission buses". BBC News. 2025-06-06. Retrieved 2025-06-06.
  2. ^ a b "2700 электробусов в Москве" [There are over 2700 electric buses in Moscow.]. Mosgortrans. 12 Dec 2025. Retrieved 27 December 2025.
  3. ^ "400 млн поездок пассажиры совершили на московских электробусах более чем за 5 лет!" [Passengers made 400 million trips on Moscow electric buses in more than 5 years!]. Mosgortrans (in Russian).
  4. ^ a b "Экологичного наземного городского транспорта стало еще больше" [There is now even more environmentally friendly surface urban transportation]. Единый Транспортный Портал. 10 July 2024. Archived from the original on 7 February 2025. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
  5. ^ Morris, Charles (15 December 2020). "Europe's largest electric bus fleet adds its 500th vehicle". ChargeDevs. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  6. ^ a b "Moscow has proved its leadership in electric buses development: the 1000th electric bus hits the streets of the city" (PDF). UITP. Mosgortrans. 11 January 2022. Retrieved 7 Feb 2024.
  7. ^ "Sergei Sobyanin approves 2022 transport infrastructure development plans / News / Moscow City Web Site". Moscow City Web Site. Retrieved 2022-10-28. This year, the Moscow transport system also expects 450-500 electric buses
  8. ^ "ГУП «Мосгортранс»: В город вышел юбилейный 1000-й электробус". mosgortrans.ru. Retrieved 2021-12-28.
  9. ^ a b "Kamaz hydrogen bus on a pilot in Moscow in 2022". Sustainable Bus. 2021-09-13. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
  10. ^ "Sergei Sobyanin: Moscow's electric bus fleet became one of the largest in the world in four years". Government of Moscow. 25 January 2023. Retrieved 4 August 2023. "In 2023–2024, we are to supply about 1000 electric buses, which is roughly 500 per year. Thus, the electric bus fleet will grow almost two times," the Moscow Mayor says.
  11. ^ "ГУП «Мосгортранс»: На 130 тыс. тонн сократились выбросы СО2 благодаря электробусам" [СО2 emissions reduced by 130 thousand tons thanks to electric buses]. mosgortrans.ru. 15 June 2024. Retrieved 2024-06-17.
  12. ^ "ГУП «Мосгортранс»: 1700 электробусов в Москве" [1,700 electric buses in Moscow]. mosgortrans.ru. 16 June 2024. Retrieved 2024-06-17.
  13. ^ "«Мосгортранс» объявило конкурс на покупку 300 электробусов на сумму почти 32 млрд рублей". Актуальные новости (in Russian). 2017-12-31. Archived from the original on 2021-11-22. Retrieved 2022-07-01.
  14. ^ "Это электробус. Что нужно знать об экологичном городском транспорте" (in Russian). Сайт Москвы. 2019-10-27. Archived from the original on 2019-12-04. Retrieved 2020-02-22.
  15. ^ Ежов, Андрей. (2017-08-02). "Расчетный запас хода московских электробусов - всего 35 км". www.zr.ru (in Russian). За рулём. Archived from the original on 2021-11-22. Retrieved 2022-07-01.
  16. ^ Кравченко Юлия (2020-02-18). "Москва удвоила число электробусов. Рассказываем, когда они будут в Зеленограде и как власти отвечают на вопросы скептиков". Зеленоград.ру. Archived from the original on 2020-02-22. Retrieved 2020-02-22.
  17. ^ "Год спустя. «Мосгортранс» продолжает отвечать на вопросы по московскому электробусу" (in Russian). TR.ru — Транспорт в России. 2019-07-02. Archived from the original on 2020-02-22. Retrieved 2020-02-22.
  18. ^ "Возможная проблема утилизации электромобилей" (in Russian). Ассоциация НСРО РУСЛОМ.КОМ. 2019-11-15. Archived from the original on 2020-02-22. Retrieved 2020-02-22.
  19. ^ Иванов Сергей Александрович (Sep 2017). "Опыт эксплуатации городского электротранспорта с подзарядкой на маршруте. Рекомендации по реализации контракта жизненного цикла" (PDF). www.mosgortrans.ru/ (in Russian). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-10-24. 08
  20. ^ "В Москве из-за морозов на маршруты не вышли электробусы, заменившие троллейбусы" (in Russian). Общая Газета. 2018-12-18. Archived from the original on 2020-02-22. Retrieved 2020-02-22.
  21. ^ "В ДТП с электробусом в Москве пострадали 12 человек | Новые Известия" (in Russian). newizv.ru. Archived from the original on 2020-02-22. Retrieved 2020-02-29.
  22. ^ veefore (2018-09-04). "А все-таки, почему убирают троллейбусы?". Andre Erofeev. Archived from the original on 2020-02-22. Retrieved 2020-02-22.
  23. ^ "ГУП «Мосгортранс»: Электробус для Москвы". www.mosgortrans.ru. Archived from the original on 2020-02-22. Retrieved 2020-02-22.
  24. ^ "Почему в Москве убирают троллейбусы и что будет вместо них". Афиша. Archived from the original on 2020-02-22. Retrieved 2020-02-22.
  25. ^ "Что дешевле — троллейбус или электробус?" (in Russian). city4people.ru. Archived from the original on 2020-02-22. Retrieved 2020-02-22.
  26. ^ "Счет - на миллиарды: "НИ" посчитали возможный ущерб от внедрения электробусов" [The cost runs into billions: "NI" estimated the potential damage from the introduction of electric buses] (in Russian). newizv.ru. Archived from the original on 2020-02-22. Retrieved 2020-02-22.
  27. ^ "Электробусный рай конца 2020-х: в каких деталях кроется подвох?" (in Russian). TR.ru — Транспорт в России. 2019-11-11. Archived from the original on 2020-02-29. Retrieved 2020-02-29.
  28. ^ "Единый Транспортный Портал". transport.mos.ru. Archived from the original on 2019-01-21. Retrieved 2020-02-22.
  29. ^ "Глава дептранса Москвы Ликсутов признался в неэффективности электробусов" (in Russian). Baza. Archived from the original on 2020-02-22. Retrieved 2020-02-22.
  30. ^ "Электробусы на столичных пассажирских маршрутах: экология, экономия, комфорт" (in Russian). Московская городская Дума. Archived from the original on 2020-10-01. Retrieved 2020-02-22.
  31. ^ "Новые маршруты и комфорт: почему популярность электробусов растет" (in Russian). Сайт Москвы. 2019-07-04. Archived from the original on 2019-12-19. Retrieved 2020-02-22.
  32. ^ "В Мосгордуме предложили создать рабочую группу по развитию городского электротранспорта" (in Russian). Московская городская Дума. Archived from the original on 2021-02-26. Retrieved 2020-02-22.
  33. ^ "Круглый стол в защиту троллейбуса" (in Russian). city4people.ru. Archived from the original on 2020-02-22. Retrieved 2020-02-22.
  34. ^ "Electricity, green gas: sustainable buses, for a strong ecological commitment". Île-de-France Mobilités (in French). 2 June 2025. Retrieved 2025-06-06.
  35. ^ "Transport for London has more than 2,000 zero-emission buses". BBC News. June 6, 2025. Retrieved June 6, 2025.
  36. ^ "Bus fleet audit—31 March 2025" (PDF). Transport for London. March 31, 2025. Retrieved July 24, 2025.
  37. ^ "MTA Zero-Emission Bus Transition Plan". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2024. p. 103. Retrieved 19 May 2025.
  38. ^ "900 New E-Buses To Be Rolled Out Soon". The Times of India. 2025-03-19. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 2025-12-28. The DTC fleet has 1231 AC CNG buses, 1878 non-AC CNG buses and 1250 electric low-floor buses.
  39. ^ "Metro Facts at a Glance - LA Metro". LA Metro. Archived from the original on 2025-03-09. Retrieved 2025-04-24.
allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_buses_in_Moscow