The European Investment Bank (EIB) has provided almost EUR 200m to cut the polluting emissions produced by buses in Spain’s largest cities. The EU bank has been providing this financing since 2017 under the Cleaner Transport Facility, which aims to promote cleaner transport systems. This joint EIB-European Commission financing instrument is enabling cities such as Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Barcelona, Valencia and Palma de Mallorca to swap their older, more polluting diesel buses for new hybrid, electric or latest generation compressed natural gas replacements.
In concrete terms, in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria this financing programme has helped to develop a new bus rapid transit system with new dedicated roadways, and to put 17 new environmentally friendly buses on the roads, complete with new stops and stations. In Palma de Mallorca, EIB support is making it possible to replace 180 diesel buses with new compressed natural gas alternatives that are also longer to provide an improved service. Valencia’s urban bus fleet will be renewed with 200 new hybrids replacing diesel vehicles that were over 20 years old, cutting the greenhouse gas emissions of the city’s buses by up to 35%. Barcelona also took part in this programme to acquire 254 new, less polluting buses that are safer and more modern. In addition to the almost EUR 200m in financing provided to date, the EIB has approved the provision or more funds to support clean transport projects in other Spanish cities.
Some of these funds were provided via support from the Investment Plan for Europe, whose guarantee makes it possible for the EIB to provide financing on favourable terms to support investments whose structure or nature means that they contribute to boosting economic growth and employment. These clean transport investments will enable the creation of 1 000 jobs connected to building the new buses for Barcelona, as well as 580 in Valencia and 330 in Palma de Mallorca during the implementation phase. In Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, the EIB-financed project for improving the city’s public transport system helped to create 1 000 jobs during its implementation phase.
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SOURCE: EIB
