Source: Presidency of the Republic
The Ministry of Industry signed an agreement with the four public passenger transport companies in Montevideo for $ 400,000 to support the purchase of buses powered by electricity. The goal for this year is to increase the fleet by 30 units, said the head of the portfolio, Guillermo Moncecchi, after highlighting that this vehicle modality is the next revolution in the energy area of Uruguay.
Within the framework of the MOVÉS project, the Minister of Industry, Energy and Mining, Guillermo Moncecchi, the Undersecretary of the Environment, Jorge Rucks, and the resident representative of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Stefan Liller, signed this June 4th of 2019 an agreement with the four companies that operate public passenger transport in Montevideo.
The government project seeks to promote the effective transition towards inclusive, efficient and low-carbon urban mobility in Uruguay, through the promotion of public passenger transport, non-motorized modes and the use of electric vehicles. The goal for this year is to have 30 units of this type and reach 100 or 120 in 2020.
To reach this goal, the agreement signed this Tuesday consists of a support of 100,000 dollars for the purchase of electric buses by the companies CUTCSA, COME, UCOT and COETC. Moncecchi explained that this economic support is complemented by a subsidy that arises from Article 349 of Law No. 19670, which empowers the government to facilitate the initial transition towards more efficient and sustainable technologies.
The new regulations, which are expected to be regulated in the coming weeks, promote the replacement of up to 4% of the fleet of vehicles with diesel engines by others powered by electricity, through a subsidy that will cover the difference in values between one and the other, which is about $ 260,000.
Moncecchi reported that, at the level of utility vehicles, they are already working with companies, subsidizing their purchase. Referring to those for private use, he said that their incorporation will depend on the cost equation, since the electric ones are more expensive for the value of the battery, but they are cheaper to use.
He also argued that this transition towards electric mobility is a way to take advantage of the change that was made in the generation matrix, with the promotion of renewable sources and the development of the so-called green route, which will have charging points every 60 km and will extend to the entire territory.
For his part, Rucks emphasized that the transportation sector is the largest emitter of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere, responsible for 50.5% of Uruguay’s total greenhouse gas emissions. For this reason, he highlighted that the climate change policy caters especially to this sector, to facilitate its transition to an electric mobility.