Lisbon is putting another 29 electric buses into service
Lisbon’s transit authority, Carris, is expanding its electric bus fleet by 29 vehicles. This brings the total to 103 electric buses. The company aims to eliminate fossil fuel-powered vehicles entirely by 2030.
Carris is adding 29 Yutong U 12 electric buses to its fleet in Lisbon.
Image: Carris
This recent acquisition is part of an investment program worth over 31 million euros, of which 17.05 million euros will be funded under the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR), according to Portugal News reports.
With these new additions, Carris’s electric bus fleet grows to a total of 103 vehicles. According to Portugal’s Energy Secretary Jean Barroca, 78 of these were funded through the PRR program. By 2026 alone, Carris has put into service 15 electric minibuses in addition to the 29 Yutong U12 buses recently introduced.
Once the new vehicles are operational, more than 50 percent of the kilometers traveled by Carris are expected to be covered by diesel-free buses. The municipal transportation company aims to completely eliminate fossil fuel-powered vehicles by 2030. The number of diesel buses has already dropped from 524 to 379.
Carris Expands Charging Infrastructure from Lisbon
Alongside fleet modernization, Carris is investing in charging infrastructure. By the end of 2026, around two million euros are planned to be allocated to charging projects at bus stops. For 2027, further investments of over ten million euros are scheduled for infrastructure and information systems related to energy management.
As part of the PRR[](https://www.electrive.net/2023/04/03/stellantis-fertigt-e-transporter-ab-2025-in-portugal/), Carris has acquired a total of 25 charging stations, as well as 29 small buses and 49 standard buses since 2022, according to the company. The total investment amount amounts to nearly 32 million euros, of which around 15 million euros came from internal funds.
In the ongoing fleet modernization, Carris CEO Rui Lopo sees the supply capacity of the European bus industry as a challenge. In the long term, the transit company aims to acquire and put into service up to 150 new buses per year.
Electrification of bus services is also set to progress at the national level. The Portuguese government plans to work with the European Commission to support the purchase of 1,006 zero-emission buses for more than 70 municipalities.
Porto is also expanding its electric bus fleet. The local transit company STCP ordered another 30 electric buses from the Portuguese manufacturer CaetanoBus in 2025. CaetanoBus’s electric buses have also been in use in Lisbon for some time: the first 15 vehicles were put into service there in 2019, with an order for another 30 following in 2023.