Red Movilidad: modernization arrives in the southern area of Santiago and 5 routes become electric
- With the incorporation of nearly 90 new electric buses, the public transport system takes a new step in its technological renewal process, leaving behind its diesel units.
- Puente Alto, La Florida, La Granja and La Pintana are part of the communes that will experience an improvement in the standard in their routes.
Santiago, August 2, 2025.- An important step towards the modernization of public transport in the southern area of Santiago was taken by the Metropolitan Public Transport Directorate, with the incorporation of about 90 new electric buses to the RED Mobility system that as of this Saturday will replace the old diesel ones, improving the standard of travel for residents of Puente Alto. La Florida, La Pintana and La Granja, among other communes.
These are routes 325, E12, E13, E15c and E16 that began to operate exclusively with electric buses, a change that is part of the technological renovation plan that will gradually incorporate 1,800 new electric buses in different sectors of Santiago, giving way to a cleaner city and silent and environmentally friendly routes.
The Presidential Delegate of the Metropolitan Region, Gonzalo Durán, indicated that “The modernization of transportation is going to improve people’s quality of life. I believe that it is an act of social and territorial justice, since the residents of the southern area of Santiago, who were often postponed, today are going to have the highest standard buses with privileged conditions from the point of view of connectivity of services, access to Wi-Fi, charging points, which shows that, if we work with the private sector, we generate conditions for a city that effectively responds to the needs of citizens.”
The arrival of new electric buses to the southern sector of Santiago occurs together with the entry into operations of the Red Movilidad system of the company Gran Américas Santiago, which since this Saturday took over the administration of the Gabriela bus terminal in the commune of Puente Alto.
The director of Metropolitan Public Transport, Paola Tapia, indicated that “this step towards the modernization and even the consolidation of electromobility is possible thanks to private investment, thanks to the public-private partnerships that allow today, only in the commune of Puente Alto, which is the largest in our country, we can go from 72% to 100% of buses with Red standard by the end of this year.”
For her part, María Fernanda Ortiz, general manager of Transmilenio in Bogotá, Colombia, said that “Santiago leads electric mobility in the region and in the world. It is very inspiring to see what they are doing, to learn from them, how the quality of service is improved with electric buses and the increase in the participation of women drivers. We take those lessons learned to continue working in Bogotá for the improvement in the quality of our public transport service.”
The system currently has 2,555 electric buses (38%) and with this incorporation it reaches a total of 2,684, allowing to reduce the average age of the fleet that today is 6 years and will reach 3 years in 2025.
By March 2025, 68% of the fleet of the RED Mobility system will be electric, with an estimated total of 4,400 electric buses in circulation. That is: 2 out of every 3 buses circulating in Santiago will be electric.
