LatinNews Daily - 04 December 2020

* Chile’s president Sebastián Piñera has opened the 'El Conquistador' bus terminal in Santiago, one of the largest electric bus stations in Latin America, calling it “a demonstration of the changing standards of public transport that we are driving as a government”, and adding that “science is giving us the tools to avoid an ecological catastrophe”. The terminal, located in Maipú, south-west Santiago, covers 15,000 square metres, and has a fleet of 215 buses, each with a capacity of 90 passengers, and the ability to travel over 300km on a single charge. The station is powered entirely by solar and hydroelectric energy, including a self-generator powered by photovoltaic solar panels. The construction of the station cost US$8m, and it will create 200 permanent jobs, according to transport minister Gloria Hutt. Since October 2019, 10 electric bus terminals (including El Conquistador) have been opened in Santiago, and 2,220 buses (776 of which are electric) have been added to the network, making it the largest clean energy fleet in Latin America. Santiago’s public transport system currently emits more than 1m tonnes of carbon dioxide per year, and the new terminal will reportedly reduce that by around 38,000 tonnes. 

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