Golden Arrow has ambitious plans to replace its diesel buses with locally built electric buses

Golden Arrow Bus Services (GABS) wants to increase the number of electric buses it operates, and it hopes to foster job growth by ensuring that some of the components are manufactured locally.

In December 2020, the company began testing two electric buses and discovered significant energy savings of 60 to 70%.

Golden Arrow’s decision comes at a time when its services are frequently disrupted by violence and damage caused by taxi industry strikes, as was the case earlier this week.

Bronwen Dyke-Beyer, a spokesperson for the bus company, told CapeTalk radio station that the company had committed to purchasing more electric buses due to the rising cost of diesel and was determined to transition away from fossil fuels.

“It’s going to take some time but we think its time to start making that move.

“An electric bus costs about three times as much as an internal combustion engine bus but the savings over time recoups that and we are very excited,“ she said.

Dyke-Beyer stated that Golden Arrow operates more than 1,100 internal combustion engine buses in the Mother City and hopes to introduce more than 60 electric buses per year beginning in 2024.

She went on to say that they hope to begin introducing electric buses by the end of 2023, and that they will work with local partners to build the bus bodies while importing the chassis, most likely from China.

“We would be creating jobs within South Africa. There’s no reason why we can’t build these [bus] bodies here and we want to get that skill here in South Africa,” Dyke-Beyer added