The €1 per person per night surcharge, which from 2016-2017 brought an extra €18.5 million into the city’s coffers, is to finance electric street cleaning vehicles in what will be a pilot project for the city.
The council took delivery of 10 of the green vehicles last Friday, which are 100 percent electric and produced by Mitsubishi Bergé Portugal.
The FUSO eCANTER vehicles will soon start being exported to the USA, and the cities of Amsterdam, Berlin, London, New York and Tokyo will also be introducing the same pilot project.
The vehicles will be used to clean the most tourist-heavy areas of Lisbon, with one vehicle being assigned per parish, to the parishes of Arroios, Avenidas Novas, Belém, Estrela, Misericórdia, Park of Nations, Penha de França, Santa Maria Maior, Santo António and São Vicente, for street cleaning.
In a statement, Lisbon Council said commitment to this project “is also part of the sustainable mobility strategy pursued by Lisbon City Council”.
It went on to explain that the FUSO eCANTER “is the first heavy commercial vehicle with zero emissions and zero noise, 100 percent electric, with a gross weight of 7.5 tons and a real autonomy of 100 km”.
The statement added this project has “substantial relevance to the Portuguese economy, since these vehicles are produced in Portugal (in Tramagal) and will be exported to the European and US markets in the future”.