New suburban electric bus coming soon - What's new and why it's good?

The public transportation sector does not suffer from an excess of innovation, and what has been working for years is generally copied again and again. Therefore, we were delighted to recently meet on route 190 of Egged, between Savidor compound in Tel Aviv and the central station in Rishon Lezion, a new creature: A father type of BYD Chinese electric suburban bus.

It is essentially a combination of an urban and interurban bus, designed to serve routes between neighboring cities. On the one hand, it is electric, like all urban buses that will enter service in the country from 2026. It is also low-floor, with space for a wheelchair and a ramp for boarding, which is more expensive and rarer in the high-floor interurban buses currently serving these routes.

On the other hand, the suburban bus has seats in the rear part similar to those of an interurban bus, more comfortable assuming that passenger dwell time will be longer than usual, including overhead storage space for cargo above the passengers' heads. In addition, each seat has popular features found in interurban buses, such as a socket for charging a mobile phone.

Another upgrade was made to the electric propulsion system. The maximum speed is similar to other urban electric buses, 90 km/h, but the Transportation Ministry has determined that the suburban bus will be adapted for longer journeys at a speed of 80 km/h, allowing for efficient and safe movement on roads between suburban areas.

Until now, four types of public transportation buses have been accepted in Israel: a 12-meter urban bus, an interurban bus, an articulated 18-meter bus, alongside minibuses. Recently, the National Public Transportation Authority has finalized a fifth configuration, already existing in Europe, which is expected to allow electric buses to capture more market share.

BYD was the first to receive approval from the Ministry for the bus in the new configuration, based on its B13 series. The bus is currently undergoing a trial run. Soon, a public transportation tender will be issued for the first time, including a requirement for buses of the new type, covering southern Dan District lines currently operated by Egged and Dan in Holon, Rishon Lezion, and a new route to Beer Yaakov and Ben-Gurion Airport. This is also the first tender in the center where all the buses, about 300 in number, are required to be electric.

"This marks a change in operational perception and service improvement for passengers as the suburban bus is intended to operate on short interurban traffic routes," said Hagai Noah, head of the bus and commercial division at Shlomo Motors. "The concept of the suburban bus is a complementary branch to the urban and interurban bus and is well-known in Europe as an optimal solution for areas and activity clusters of both types. The bus is adapted for parents traveling with their children on short trips and for adults who can board the bus without stairs in the front section, as well as providing comfortable seats for longer-range passengers on the same trip," Noah added.

The BYD bus includes 47 seats + 2 seats for disabled people; its length is 13 meters, width is 2.5 meters, and height is 3.3 meters. A 422 kWh battery gives it a range of 300 km, which can be recharged within three hours. The bus will initially come fully assembled from China, but if there is demand, it will be adapted for assembly in local plants, vehicles, and crates.