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Demonstration City I Quito - Ecuador
The Metropolitan District of Quito (MDMQ), the capital and largest city of Ecuador, has 2.7 million inhabitants. Since 1995, Quito has a BRT system composed of 5 lines, one of which runs with trolleybuses. Despite its continuous expansion, the system has already reached capacity and 40% of its fleet will soon reach the end of its useful life. As part of international negotiations, Quito committed to replace the BRT fleet with e-buses by 2025 to achieve the goal of zero emissions by 2030. In order to achieve this, an ordinance for the gradual decarbonisation of transport in Quito is currently (November 2019) being discussed in the Municipal Council.
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Multimodal E-Mobility hub in the zero-emission zone of the Historic Centre
The multimodal e-mobility hub to be implemented in Quito will be carried out in the Historic Centre of Quito (HCQ), a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which aims to become a low- emissions zone (LEZ), primarily accessed by clean public transport vehicles, pedestrians and bicycles. In this context, the multi-modal e-mobility hub to be established will contribute to the consolidation of the planned LEZ in the HCQ and the integration of the existing mass transit lines. The multimodal e-mobility hub in the HCQ’s LEZ will take advantage of the existing electric infrastructure of the trolleybus and the subway systems in the area to create multimodal charging points. The demonstration activities in Quito will focus on creating connectivity between transport lines and stations with various e-mobility solutions in order to contribute to the consolidation of the LEZ in the HCQ. Moreover, the commercial and touristic character of the HCQ and the narrowness of its streets require the introduction of small e-cargo vehicles to transport goods within the area. As such, the introduction of sixty (60) e-bikes (for the bike sharing system), thirty (30) e-tuk-tuks for passengers wanting to transfer quickly from one corridor to the other, and thirty (30) e-cargo bikes for last mile e-delivery services will be considered. In order to comply with the charging requirements of the EVs circulating in the area, the action will take advantage of the DC (Direct Current)-Grid to which the trolleybus catenaries and the subway are connected. Cost-effective multi-standard DC charging points will be strategically positioned to provide on-street fast charging services for 2- and 3-wheelers. Moreover, the possibility of installing one fast charging point for e- (BRT) buses will in the BRT terminal La Marín to charge in 10 to 20 minutes will be analysed. Finally, the demonstration activities in Quito will be used to test solutions for hilly cities, which later could be replicated in cities like Bogotá and La Paz, to name a few.
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Planned actions
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Trends and drivers
Quito is the second city in Latin America to have implemented a BRT system, which has been expanded over time, increasing the served area and number of passengers. At present, the system is composed of 5 BRT lines, which cover 136 km with exclusive lanes that cross the city in a north-south direction, completing 1 million trips on a regular working day (Havela Rodríguez 2019).
The first BRT line -Trolebús- was implemented in 1995 with 113 trolleybuses running on 37 km of exclusive lanes connected to the electricity grid. This is the only BRT line, which runs on electricity. However, the diesel engines supposed to be used only in case of emergency, were used more frequently than needed. Furthermore, due to the age of the trolleybuses running on this line, many have been replaced by diesel buses. In the past years, 80 biarticulate (18m) diesel buses were bought to replace some of the oldest buses and increase capacity (Bravo 2017).
The first BRT line -Trolebús- was implemented in 1995 with 113 trolleybuses running on 37 km of exclusive lanes connected to the electricity grid. This is the only BRT line, which runs on electricity. However, the diesel engines supposed to be used only in case of emergency, were used more frequently than needed. Furthermore, due to the age of the trolleybuses running on this line, many have been replaced by diesel buses. In the past years, 80 biarticulate (18m) diesel buses were bought to replace some of the oldest buses and increase capacity (Bravo 2017).
Currently, the BRT system counts on 324 buses (feeder buses not included), from which 87 are 19 years old or older and 37 are 14 years old. These represent 38% of the total fleet of the BRT system. Moreover, there are 2.380 diesel buses that make part of the public transport system, which are run by private operators and conduct a total of 1.6 million trips on a regular working day (El Comercio 2019).
The current public transport system in Quito has already reached capacity, and has not been able to provide safe and comfortable travels to its passengers, generating an important shift towards private cars in the past years. Thus, in 2010 the municipality decided to build the first subway line. The works started in January 2016 and it is supposed to be ready by the end of 2020. It is a 23 km long line with 15 stops and will cost USD 2 billion. The line crosses the city from north to south, serving a similar route than the one done by the BRTs. However, the subway line is not planned to replace the BRT system, but to complement it. Accordingly, the whole public transportation system is being restructured to integrate the new subway line in the most efficient way possible (Metro de Quito 2020).
Moreover, in October 2017 in a high-level event organized by C40, the previous major of Quito, Mauricio Rodas, committed to renew the bus fleet with electric buses until 2025 to achieve the goal of zero emissions by 2030 (El Comercio 2017). Thus, the first electric bus (BYD) runs operative since November 2017 in one of the BRT lines and other buses have been tested in regular bus routes (EPMTP 2018).
The current public transport system in Quito has already reached capacity, and has not been able to provide safe and comfortable travels to its passengers, generating an important shift towards private cars in the past years. Thus, in 2010 the municipality decided to build the first subway line. The works started in January 2016 and it is supposed to be ready by the end of 2020. It is a 23 km long line with 15 stops and will cost USD 2 billion. The line crosses the city from north to south, serving a similar route than the one done by the BRTs. However, the subway line is not planned to replace the BRT system, but to complement it. Accordingly, the whole public transportation system is being restructured to integrate the new subway line in the most efficient way possible (Metro de Quito 2020).
Moreover, in October 2017 in a high-level event organized by C40, the previous major of Quito, Mauricio Rodas, committed to renew the bus fleet with electric buses until 2025 to achieve the goal of zero emissions by 2030 (El Comercio 2017). Thus, the first electric bus (BYD) runs operative since November 2017 in one of the BRT lines and other buses have been tested in regular bus routes (EPMTP 2018).
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