MADRID – In cooperation with GIZ and hosted by the European Investment Bank (EIB) and Empresa Municipal de Transportes de Madrid, on 9 December 2025, the Permanent Secretariat of the Transport Community organised a Clean Bus Platform study visit to Madrid. The event brought together representatives from ministries and municipalities across the Western Balkans to learn from one of Europe’s most advanced urban bus electrification programmes.
The study visit is part of the Clean Bus and Clean Fleet Platform, established following the endorsement of the Clean Bus and Clean Fleet Declaration by the Ministers of Transport and Mayors at the Green Mobility Summit in Sarajevo in June 2024. The Platform is a flagship regional initiative supporting the transition to zero-emission bus fleets in line with the EU acquis, the Green Agenda, and the Growth Plan.
Led by the Transport Community, in close cooperation with JASPERS (EIB) and GIZ, the Clean Bus Platform delivers targeted capacity-building activities, including study visits and technical workshops, enabling Western Balkan authorities to learn directly from EU cities with hands-on experience in planning, procuring, financing, and operating clean public transport fleets.
During the visit, participants took part in a field visit to the Empresa Municipal de Transportes de Madrid, including the Carabanchel Bus Depot, where they gained first-hand insight into procurement of electric buses and charging infrastructure, deployment and operation of electric bus fleets, route-based charging solutions and grid integration, and climate adaptation of depots and vehicles.
The programme also included a visit to the hydrogen bus facility at the Entrevías Operations Centre, providing exposure to complementary zero-emission technologies.
The study visit then continued with a technical workshop at the EIB Office in Madrid, focusing on technical design and implementation of fleet electrification projects, EIB financing instruments for urban mobility investments, and open technical exchange on clean fleet investment needs and next steps in the Western Balkans.
The workshop featured contributions from experts of EIB Global, JASPERS, IDOM, GIZ, and the Permanent Secretariat of the Transport Community, fostering a practical dialogue on how to translate lessons learned into credible, bankable investment pipelines across the region.
