Since ground transportation in Colombia was responsible for 12% of the overall country GHG emissions (29 MtCO2e) in 2017, tackling the transport sector is crucial for complying with climate change mitigation goals and electric mobility can be a major tool for achieving this. Additionally, public concern about air pollution impacts on public health has increased over the past years. According to calculations in Colombia urban air pollution is responsible of 10 thousand premature deaths and 75% of national health costs of environmental degradation, this is about 2% of the GDP (DNP, 2018).
Buses play an important role in Colombia’s transport landscape. However, given the increasing urban population densities and the deteriorating air quality (23% of Bogota’s local air pollution comes from buses, especially from older buses), the bus systems’ various configurations – from small feeder buses to bi-articulated high frequency corridor buses – together imply an untapped potential for providing access to clean urban mobility. The TRANSfer project is developing a National E-Bus Promotion Program together with the Ministry of Transport, that comprises technical and financial design, an MRV system and a steering structure.
