Electric buses set to make Turkish debut in central city

Turkey's first electric buses will soon hit the roads in Konya, as the city's municipality plans to introduce four electric buses to its fleet in the coming days, Mayor Tahir Akyürek said.

Konya, with its nearly flat geography, is perfect for the buses.

"E-buses" as the municipality calls them, have been in the test-driving phase for quite some time and the municipality officials said positive feedback from commuters encouraged them to introduce the buses in the near future. "They are low on energy consumption, efficient and more importantly, do not harm the environment. They can travel for at least 200 kilometers when fully charged," Akyürek said.

The buses, manufactured by a Turkish firm, have 25 seats, and besides minimizing environmental damage by cutting carbon dioxide emissions, they also offer noise-free travel. Several charging stations will be installed across the city and the mayor said backup charges will be available in cases of emergency.

Turkey has increasingly turned to electric vehicle production with several companies developing electric cars as well as making deals for production abroad. The government is also developing the country's first "national car," an extended-range electric vehicle. Although use of electric-powered vehicles in mass transit is currently limited to Konya, with a swelling population Turkish cities are thinking about further use of alternative energy sources for mass transit. Increased use of mass transit requires efforts to curb pollution from buses and other vehicles. Last year, the Istanbul Municipality introduced the country's first solar-powered bus.