Cape Town to pilot electric buses in MyCiTi network

In a significant step towards sustainable public transport, the City of Cape Town will, in the coming months, begin testing electric buses as part of its MyCiTi network in a pilot project aimed at preparing the metro for a wider electric bus rollout.

The research will be undertaken by the City’s Urban Mobility Directorate in partnership with the University of Cape Town, following approval by the Mayoral Committee earlier on Tuesday. The decision clears the way for the City to sign an agreement with the eBRT2030 Consortium, the implementing agent of the Urban Electric Mobility Initiative (UEMI).

The project is funded by the City together with a €90 000 (R1 697 317) grant from UEMI and will focus on understanding how electric buses would operate within the MyCiTi system before they are introduced on routes in the metro-south east corridor in 2027/28.

Up to four 12-metre electric buses will be deployed across various MyCiTi routes for about 12 months. If timelines hold, the first bus is expected to arrive in the first quarter of the new financial year.

The pilot will test how the buses perform on different route profiles, battery life once fully charged, charging times, and how factors such as passenger loads, terrain and climate affect battery discharge. Maintenance and operational costs will also be assessed, with international experience showing that electric bus fleets can reduce operating costs by as much as 70%.

Mayoral Committee Member for Urban Mobility, Councillor Rob Quintas, said the research was essential to ensure the City was ready for a full rollout.

“We are grateful that the Mayoral Committee has given us the go-ahead to sign the agreement with the eBRT2030 Consortium to participate in this programme,” Quintas said. “The research is critical as we need to understand how the electric buses will perform in our local context, and what challenges we need to take into account before we roll out the e-bus fleet.”

He said the findings would inform planning around driver training, maintenance requirements, passenger capacity, fault reporting and operational logistics. “All over the world, countries undertake a pilot before rolling out their electric fleet. UCT is our partner in this and will lead the feasibility study, as well as monitoring and evaluation. We benefit directly from the research and can apply the outcomes in our planning,” Quintas said.

The City will sign the grant agreement with UEMI, the contracting entity acting on behalf of eBRT2030, which is funded by the European Union under the Horizon Europe programme.

The research phase will run until at least December 2026 and could be extended to June 2027, subject to approval.

The City plans to roll out electric buses on MyCiTi routes serving the metro-south east, including new routes under Phase 2A. The first electric buses are expected to begin operating from July 1,  2027, transporting passengers between Mitchells Plain and Khayelitsha, Wynberg and Claremont, and the Cape Town CBD.

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