According to ECO, STCP – Sociedade de Transportes Coletivos do Porto launched an international public tender for the acquisition of 30 more 100% electric standard buses and the installation of an electric charging station today.

The investment amounts to 12.9 million euros, with the largest road operator in the Porto Metropolitan Area estimating that the introduction of these 12-meter electric buses with a minimum range of 320 kilometers into the fleet will take place in the second quarter of next year.

At that time, according to a statement, STCP will have a total of 126 100% emission-free vehicles. Currently, the fleet of the transport company led by Cristina Pimentel is made up of 446 vehicles: 75% are powered by natural gas, 15% are 100% electric vehicles and there are also 10% that use diesel.

The new charging station, costing €900,000, will be installed at the Via Norte collection station, where these new fleet vehicles will also be located. The announcements of the procedures have already been published in the Official Journal of the European Union and Diário da República, followed by publication on the Vortal Platform.

“STCP is committed to leading the transition to more sustainable and efficient public transport. The launch of this competition (…) represents another concrete step in our commitment to clean mobility, to benefit the quality of life of our passengers and the populations of the municipalities in which we operate”, said the president of the board of directors of STCP, Cristina Pimentel.

This new tender is being launched at a time when Mota-Engil Renewing is still challenging the supply of eight 'midi' electric buses (nine metres long) and their respective charging stations, considering that its proposal should not have been excluded and that the award of the contract for 2.9 million euros to Competitor Green Urban Mobility, representing the Chinese company Zhongton, was illegal.

At the start of this year, the new public service contract, valid for a decade, comes into force, in which the municipalities in the region that are shareholders of STCP — Porto, Vila Nova de Gaia, Matosinhos, Gondomar, Maia and Valongo — are obliged to pay 344 million euros to the carrier until 2034.