DOHA: The Lusail Bus Depot has set a world record on the Guiness World records as the largest electric bus depot with a capacity of 478 buses, announced the Ministry of Transport (MoT).
The depot spansover an area of 400,000 square metres andis the first in the Middle East to rely on solar power.
The depot, which is part of MoT’s Public Bus Infrastructure Programme, was inaugurated in October 2022, just ahead of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
The bus depotis the first in the Middle East relying on solar energy as it includes some 11,000 PV solar panels to generate 4 megawatts of power daily to feed its buildings, and this is in line with Qatar's National Environment and Climate Change Strategy (QNE) goals, and helps achieve the leadership’s vision and QNV2030 goals, it was revealed at the inauguration.
The depot is located in Lusail City, north of Doha, near Wadi Al Banat Rd to the north and Wadi Smaira St to the west.
The depot consists of 24 multipurpose buildings, in addition to bus bays, service facilities, recreational facilities, green spaces, and substations. It also features approximately 11,000 PV solar panels covering a total area of more than 25,000m² to generate 4 megawatts of power to feed the depot’s buildings with needed power.
The depot is divided into three zones.
The first zone includes 478 parking bays for e-buses equipped with 248 electric charging equipment, in addition to dedicated buildings for repairing, inspection, washing, and vacuuming.
The second zone includes accommodations for all the depot staff with a capacity of 1400 people.
The third zone is a depot for BRT e-buses. It includes 24 bays equipped with 24 electric chargers to support the operations of that type of buses. It also includes buildings for repairing, cleaning, vacuuming and quick inspection.
An Operation Control Center (OCC) building is also located at the depot in an area of more than 39,000m². It is considered as the central command center where all bus operations are monitored and controlled.
