SANTIAGO — Chile is leading a major shift toward zero-emission public transport in Latin America, with Santiago at the center of this transformation. At the time of this writing, Santiago is home to the largest electric bus fleet outside of China. Reflecting its commitment to sustainable urban mobility, by March 2026, 68 percent of the bus fleet is projected to be electrified. By then, the total fleet of e-buses will reach more than 4,400 buses, thanks to the planned addition of 1,800 new electric buses.
This initiative is part of a national commitment to decarbonize transport and improve air quality benefiting nearly 6 million users with measurable reductions in emissions, noise, and fuel consumption. Electric buses also demonstrate significant economic advantages, with maintenance costs estimated to be 44% lower than those of diesel buses. Additionally, in terms of energy performance, electric buses are at least 65% cheaper per kilometer traveled, highlighting their superior cost-efficiency in daily operations.
The Santiago transition is supported by ZEBRA, a strategic partnership aimed at accelerating the transition to zero-emission bus fleets in cities across Latin America. ZEBRA is co-led by C40 Cities and the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT). A critical partner in this project is the Centro de Movilidad Sostenible (CMS), an endorser of the Global Memorandum of Understanding on Zero-Emission Medium-and Heavy-Duty Vehicles (Global MOU). CMS creates electromobility strategies, provides technical assistance, develops bidding guidelines for electric vehicles, evaluates electrification potential of individual fleets, creates recommendations for training/design/implementation of ZE buses, and much more.
With a strong focus on charging, the Santiago transition also includes the development of 29 electroterminals. And, in the coming months, the number of electroterminals in Greater Santiago is expected to increase by 93%, growing from 29 to 56 facilities. The project will also include modernization of service standards with improvements in accessibility and safety, and a significant decrease in the average fleet age.
The momentum of this project extends to nearby small and medium-sized cities, marking a milestone in sustainable urban mobility across Chile. According to the Long-Term Climate Strategy (ECLP), two key targets guide Chile’s decarbonization of public transport: from 2035 onward, all new public transport vehicles must be zero-emission—a goal that Santiago has already achieved—and by 2040, the entire national public bus fleet is expected to be fully electric. These goals dovetail with Chile’s status as a signatory to the Global MOU, which calls for 100% new zero-emission truck sales by 2040 and at least 30% new zero-emission truck and bus sales by 2030. Currently there are 40 national signatories and more than 250 subnational government and private sector innovators in the Global MOU community. Want to learn more about Chile’s e-bus leadership? Read our Charging Up Change case study.
A growing number of national and subnational governments as well as public fleets around the world now recognize the “quadruple A” proposition of zero-emission buses: They are Advanced, Affordable, Available and Adopted. These qualities make zero-emission buses the ideal choice for transit fleets looking to serve their customers and their communities. The “quadruple A” proposition means zero-emission buses (and trucks!) are:
- Advanced: Zero-emission buses on the market are state-of-the-art. They are designed to reduce pollution, fuel costs, and vulnerability to global shocks such as extreme weather events, energy price spikes, and major power outages. They are operationally superior to diesel buses offering a smoother and quieter ride as well as advanced safety features, and lower fuel and maintenance costs.
- Affordable: By 2030-2035, the vast majority of ZE-MHDVs will be cheaper to own and operate than traditional MDHV models.
- Available: Today, there are nearly 960 ZE-MHDV models on the market globally, a nearly 50% increase from 2021 when 570 models were available (958 models are now available globally). To see how various countries are growing their zero-emission model availability, explore Drive to Zero’s Zero-Emission Technology Inventory (ZETI) Data Explorer.
- Adopted: In 2024, more than 250,000 ZE-MHDVs were sold around the world, with China responsible for the lion’s share (230,000+) followed by the U.S. (22,000+ ZETs).
Charging Up Change features the stories of the people and companies that are changing global transportation for good. The series is brought to you by CALSTART’s Drive to Zero program. Companies and subnational governments looking to accelerate innovation, grow jobs as well as economic and energy security are invited to endorse the Global MOU today!
Read more about the real people and companies who are “Charging Up Change” here.