Milan’s public transport operator, ATM, acquires 110 electric buses
This year, Azienda Trasporti Milanesi (ATM) launched a tender—valued at over 100 million euros—for the supply and subsequent maintenance of 110 electric buses. The contract has been awarded to the manufacturer Karsan, which will be responsible for both producing the buses and providing maintenance services for a ten-year period. Under the terms of the tender, the order includes 80 urban buses, each 12 meters long; these are low-floor vehicles equipped with three doors. Additionally, there are 30 units—also 12 meters long—designed as low-floor interurban buses, but equipped with only two doors. The first group will be delivered directly to ATM, while the latter 30 units will go to its subsidiary, NET.
According to *Sustainable Bus*, the order is being processed through Karsan’s Italian dealer, Kmobility, with the total value of the contract expected to reach approximately 76 million euros. This figure covers not only the delivery and maintenance of the vehicles but also future battery replacements. Furthermore, while the 80 electric vehicles destined for ATM will enter service directly in Milan, the 30 units intended for NET will likely be deployed in Monza. As noted by *Sustainable Bus*, the first batch of the delivery will consist of 34 vehicles: 22 for Milan and 12 for Monza.
In late 2022, ATM initiated a tender process for the acquisition of 340 electric buses. In 2023, Iveco Bus and Solaris were selected as the winning bidders for the contract. Since then, the acquisition of approximately 600 electric buses has been reported. Currently, ATM remains committed to its established goal of transitioning its entire fleet of conventional buses to electric vehicles by 2030, a process that involves the addition of 1,200 electric buses. To efficiently manage an electric fleet of this scale, the San Donato, Sarca, Giambellino, and Palmanova depots are being progressively adapted for electric operations. Furthermore, the program includes the construction of new depots specifically designed to accommodate electric buses.
Italy stands as the leading market for the production and sale of electric buses in Europe. Following an exhaustive assessment of all types of propulsion systems, it has been determined that the Italian bus market has reached a leading position within the European Union. It is worth noting that only the United Kingdom—which is not a member of the European Union—reports higher registration figures. However, with regard to externally rechargeable buses, Italy has surpassed the United Kingdom this year. This information is drawn from statistics recently published by the European Environment Agency (EEA).
