In 2019, in Europe, electric buses took 10% of the total volume of purchases of city buses, in 2020 the share will grow to 20%. India has announced the purchase of more than a thousand electric-powered city buses. Recently, the Bloomberg New Energy Finance research group published a sensational forecast: in 20 years, two-thirds of the world's city buses will be on electric transmission. At the end of 2018, 385 thousand city electric buses were in operation — only 13% of the world's fleet of city buses. Two years ago, 98% of the localization of the world market of electric buses accounted for China. The most developed countries in the electrification of public transport also include the Netherlands, Finland and the United Kingdom.

Kazakhstan is on the crest of the global trend. In 2019, the city akimats implemented a number of major projects on the introduction of electric buses in the transport infrastructure. 5 electric buses run in Aktau, 10 in Pavlodar. In November, 10 electric buses on route 206 were put into operation in Almaty. Almaty electric bus fleet No.1 intends to put 40 more electric buses on the routes by the end of the year.

Akimat of Nur-Sultan in October announced its intention to purchase 100 electric buses for the next year, the first batch of which has already arrived in the capital's fleet. When the project is implemented, Nur-Sultan bus fleet will become the most electric vehicle among the cities of the EAEU. For example, Moscow intends to increase the fleet of electric buses to 600 units by the end of 2020. The level of penetration there will be 1 electric bus per 21 thousand inhabitants. In Nur-Sultan 1 electric bus for 11 thousand citizens.

The surge in demand for electric buses is natural. This type of transport as a technology actually monthly increases the operational advantages over buses on the ice. Energy efficiency is high: today the electric bus is 5-6 times more economical. On 1 km in Kazakhstan it spends 18 tenge, diesel analogue-about 90-100 tenge. On average, an electric bus consumes 1 kW of electricity per 1 km. Bus on diesel - 400 ml of fuel. At times cheaper operation. The electric bus has no complicated mechanisms, no need to change the oil, filters, drive belts. There are no processes for maintenance and repair of fuel equipment, start-up-release system, gearbox. In fact, the electric bus is a gadget platform for the integration of all sorts of Internet technologies. One more total advantage: electric buses maximally correspond to the modern model of urban economy development: zero harmful emissions, low noise level and high adaptation to the Smart City concept.

For the largest megacities of Kazakhstan, a critical problem is the increased gas content of the atmosphere. According to the "National report on the state of the environment and the use of natural resources of the Republic of Kazakhstan for 2018", Almaty and Nur-Sultan are outsiders in the index of atmospheric pollution among Kazakh cities. In the metrics of ecologists, both capitals fall into the group of the most "dirty settlements of Kazakhstan".

Transport is the main source of pollution. In Nur-Sultan, the share of transport accounts for 54.2% of exhaust gases, in Almaty, the share of harmful emissions from transport is 65%. The public sector has prepared the basis for the intensive growth of the electric bus market in the country. The system program of updating of bus fleets of Kazakhstan is developed. According to the Ministry of industry and infrastructure development, more than 1,000 city buses were purchased this year alone. In two years, the critical wear of the city bus fleet has decreased from 65% to 55%. In total, more than 12 thousand buses run on city routes. By 2025, according to the government's plans, the level of critical wear will be reduced to 28% (over 5 years, Kazakhstan's cities will buy more than 5,000 new buses).

An effective mechanism for co-financing projects in the PPP format has been formed. The funds have already been provided to carriers through JSC "DBK-Leasing" on favorable terms: 15% down payment, for 7 years with an interest rate of 7%. Until 2022, it is planned to allocate funds in the amount of 128.5 billion tenge from the Republican budget for the renewal of the bus fleet. It is equally important that the state order for the renewal of bus fleets will be fully provided at the expense of local manufacturers.

In 2019, Kazakhstan's auto industry produced 966 buses — 3 times more than in 2018. the main producer of electric buses in Kazakhstan is "Saryarkaavtoprom" LLP. The company produces more than 50% of buses of local production, and within the framework of the program on renewal of bus fleets of cities the share of "Saryarkaavtoprom" reaches 70%. At the moment, the company has localized the production of two brands of electric buses from the world leaders of this segment: Yutong and Ankai. It is noteworthy that Yutong is a world leader in the production of buses, including electric traction. A breakthrough growth in the production of electric buses in Kazakhstan can be provided by the established infrastructure of attracting foreign investment for environmental projects. Through the AIFC site, akimats will be able to place infrastructure bonds for projects that improve the quality of the region's environment. The transfer of city bus fleets to electric buses is an attractive investment project. There is a stable and highly predictable solvent demand, there are local producers, the project fully complies with modern economic standards of the international system of sustainable development.