Titsa Invests €125M in 104 New Electric & Hybrid Buses for Tenerife
Following record passenger numbers, Tenerife's Titsa is investing over €125 million to introduce 104 new electric and hybrid buses, significantly enhancing sustainability, accessibility, and service quality across the island.
Titsa, Tenerife's public transport company, is upgrading its bus fleet and working towards a more sustainable future. The company plans to add 104 new electric and hybrid buses over the next two years. This move aims to significantly reduce carbon emissions from transport on the island and improve services for passengers.
Of these 104 buses, 34 were recently approved by the Island Government Council, costing 15.2 million euros. These will join another 70 buses that are almost finished being built and are expected to arrive by the middle of this year. Rosa Dávila, the president of the Cabildo de Tenerife, stated that the total investment in renewing the bus fleet during the current term of office is over 125 million euros. This investment is part of a plan to ensure Titsa's buses are, on average, just over three years old.
The 34 newly approved buses include 25 for routes between towns and suburbs, with five of these being double-deckers. Seven electric buses will be added to improve urban services in La Laguna, and two minibuses will go to Los Realejos. These 34 buses are expected to be ready by mid-2027. The 70 buses bought last year, which include 13 double-deckers for routes to the South and North to help ease traffic, are expected by mid-2024. In total, the Island Administration has purchased 351 buses during this term.
This fleet upgrade is already making a positive environmental impact. CO2 emissions have dropped by 7.6%, even though the buses traveled an extra six million kilometers last year. This shows how effective the switch to cleaner vehicles has been.
Making buses accessible is also a key part of this modernization. 90% of the new buses will be fully accessible. They will have automatic ramps, dedicated spaces for wheelchairs, non-slip and anti-glare floors, and visual and audio systems to announce stops and routes. Braille buttons will be included, and the lighting on doors, bars, handrails, and call buttons will use high-contrast colors to help people with low vision.
These efforts come as Titsa continues to grow. In 2023, the company carried a record 87 million passengers, an increase of five million (6.13%) from the previous year. The total seating capacity reached 160 million, and for the first time, buses traveled over 40 million kilometers, reaching 42 million. The company also hired 68 new staff members last year.