Final prototype of Vitoria-Gasteiz' new electric bus (BEI)

Vitoria-Gasteiz starts testing its new 100% electric bus

22 Jul 2020

The final prototype of the vehicle, which was presented last week on Tuesday, 14 July at an official ceremony with the city´s mayor and representatives from the provincial and regional governments, will be tested without passengers during the coming months on the route of Line 2 of TUVISA (the city´s public bus company), where it will enter into service in mid 2021. Apart from the first convoy, the two pantographs that will allow to re-charge batteries at the two Line extremes were also installed.


The mayor of Vitoria-Gasteiz and representatives from the provincial and regional governments are officially presenting the new electric bus. Credits@Vitoria-Gasteiz City Council.



The model presented is the Irizar ie tram, which is 12m long. A vehicle that has 3 doors and 22 passenger seats. It is powered by a motor of up to 180 kW with lithium-ion batteries, which are also developed and manufactured by Irizar e-mobility at its facilities in the Basque Country. The vehicles will be charged during the trip in 4 minutes by means of interoperable ultra-fast charging stations (pantographs) and then, fully charged at the TUVISA facilities at night. For this project, Irizar e-mobility has counted on the collaboration of the construction company Yarritu and LKS, which are carrying out the engineering, civil work, signage, communications, etc.

Taking advantage of their presence in the city, the citizens were able to visit the convoy, which was showcased in different points of Vitoria-Gasteiz from the 14th to the 20th of July, to get to know its characteristics from a personal experience.

The smart electric bus (BEI acronym in Spanish) has also an official website www.bei.eus that contains all the information on this new sustainable transport mode and also provides information on specific problems that may arise during the forthcoming deployment period.

In the next year, a total of 13 buses will be deployed and the new Line 2 with 100% electric buses and a dedicated traffic lane is expected to enter in operation next summer (2021). High capacity 100% electric public transport is paramount to achieve the desired carbon neutrality in the near future and, in this regard, the deployment of the BEI in Vitoria-Gasteiz (European Green Capital 2012) reinforces the commitment of the city for a sustainable future.


Outside and inside of the new electric bus. Credits@Vitoria-Gasteiz City Council.