The Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has announced that plans are well advanced to procure and import 100 electric buses into the country by the end of the year.
Dr Bawumia stated that this initiative aims to reduce carbon emissions as part of the fight against climate change and address rising transportation costs.
He also mentioned that the government plans to construct charging stations at various fuelling stations to support the new fleet of buses once they arrive in the country.
“One of the issues we are looking at as far as reducing the cost of transport in Ghana is that we go through two things: we should move towards electric vehicles, which will help the environment. Also, with electric vehicles, two elements will help all of us: It doesn’t consume fuel.
“So, when the price of fuel increases, it will not impact the price of electric vehicles. Again, there are not many spare parts in electric vehicles; the main spare part that will be needed will be the battery, which can last for years. It will reduce the transport cost.
“Beginning this month, we are commencing the construction of charging stations because electric vehicles will need charging stations where you can charge your car. We want to place the charging stations in virtually every station’s fuelling stations.
“We want Ghana to move towards solar power. So, the charging stations will be hybrid, both solar and electricity, but we want to move towards this by election. This year, we are hoping to bring in close to 100 electric buses to show the public how it is working,” he stated.
Dr. Bawumia said these at a meeting with members of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU), in Accra.
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer also explained that the introduction of electric buses will be a public-private partnership.
