CATANIA – “Reducing emissions in the transport sector represents a key element in the fight against climate change. The metropolitan city of Catania will equip itself with a fleet of buses with more technological and environmentally friendly engines. We therefore want to increase local public transport services with a view to environmental sustainability included in a broader project which involves the opening of new metro stops, intermodal transport and more fluid connections between Catania and the surrounding centres”. This was said by the metropolitan mayor of Catania Enrico Trantino, who called a technical meeting to address a topic full of prospects for public transport: the gradual transition from old buses powered by fossil fuel to those that do not need petroleum derivatives and they travel powered by methane, electricity or hydrogen, in compliance with the energy transition directives set out in the national strategic plan for sustainable mobility.
The technical meeting, which was held at the headquarters of the Metropolitan City, was attended by many mayors interested in protecting the environment and human health through sustainable development of urban mobility. The resources for the purchase of the new buses were assigned by the Ministry to the Metropolitan City of Catania, which has developed a spending plan ‘spread’ over 15 years, that is, from 2019 to 2033. The first five-year period, which has already ended, included the possibility of purchasing exclusively methane-powered vehicles. In the coming years, there will be a shift towards purchasing electric and hydrogen buses, which however require special infrastructure for electric charging or for hydrogen engines.
