(File Photo)

The electric buses of Chinese automaker BYD debuted on Tuesday in Santiago, capital of Chile.

Chilean Transport Minister Paola Tapia thanked China for the first two electric autobuses to Santiago’s transit network.

“We are keeping our promise to make the service more convenient and efficient, as well as to protect the environment by using these electric buses,” Tapia said.

(File Photo）

BYD’s electric buses can carry 81 people at a time and offer comfortable seats, air conditioning, Wi-Fi and USB cell phone charging.

Official testing data shows it costs 300 Chilean pesos for the diesel buses to run one kilometer compared to just 70 pesos for electric buses.

Tapia said the electric buses can run the whole day after a two to three hour charge. “We’ll have 90 electric buses on the road for the public transport system,” she added.

（File Photo）