Madrid becomes first major European city with a 100% clean bus fleet!

Congratulations, Madrid! The City Council's efforts, together with EMT, the Municipal Transport Company of Madrid, have made it possible to ensure that 100% of Madrid’s bus fleet is green and in compliance with the EU's Clean Vehicles Directive.

To reduce harmful pollutant emissions and improve the city’s air quality, Madrid's mayor promised in 2020 that no municipal diesel bus will operate on the city's streets after 2023. To achieve this highly ambitious target, Madrid replaced 60% of the fleet and purchased 1,291 brand-new and clean buses. Thanks to this commitment, the last 12 diesel buses officially stopped operating last month, positioning Madrid at the forefront of the deployment of sustainable and clean urban public transport. This milestone also coincides with the 75th anniversary of EMT, the Municipal Transport Company of Madrid.

The EMT fleet will consist entirely of 1,915 CNG buses and 180 electric buses after the last diesel vehicle is retired in 2023. Next year, in addition, EMT will incorporate the first ten hydrogen buses and another 150 new electric ones. The objective is to ensure that 25% of the EMT buses will be electric by 2025. This also results in the rejuvenation of the municipal bus fleet: the average age of the EMT fleet was 9.46 years in November 2016; 7.14 in November 2018; 6.57 in November 2019, and up to 4.84 years on average today.

One of the main goals of the City Council's 'Madrid 360 Sustainable Mobility Plan' and one of the axes of the 'EMT Strategic Plan 2025' is to adapt to the requirements established by the European Clean Vehicles Directive. This includes having a modern fleet that is 100% clean and equipped with the newest technological innovations currently available on the market.

The search for increasingly sustainable solutions from the environmental point of view for Madrid has been the firm commitment of the EMT and has had the support of the current government team, resulting in a progressive electrification that will cover 25% of the municipal fleet in 2025. For this purpose, the EMT Operations Center in La Elipa, with a capacity for 318 buses, is preparing to become a reference centre for 100% electric fleet management, equipped with a photovoltaic installation designed for energy supply.

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