Public transport is inherently an environmentally friendly way to travel. Its ecological benefits are based, among other things, on the fact that one bus can replace a large number of private cars.
In the Kotka region, efforts are also being made to improve the environmental performance of public transport through the use of clean propulsion technologies. The Kotka region is among the leading areas in Finland in the electrification of local public transport. Using electricity as a power source reduces greenhouse gas emissions by up to 80–90% compared to fossil diesel.
You can ride smooth and quiet electric buses on city bus routes 1–55 in Kotka and Hamina, excluding routes 1M and 1U and the minibus-operated services on routes 1E, 5B, 6B, 9B, 9J, 23, 34B, and 35B (winter season 2025–2026).
Local public transport in the Kotka region includes 25 city buses operating within Kotka and on the Kotka–Hamina route. As of spring 2024, all of these city buses have been replaced with electric buses, and from March 2025 onward, more than 60% of the fleet consists of electric buses and over 70% of total bus kilometers are driven using electricity. A small number of diesel-powered city buses are kept as reserve vehicles; these use renewable diesel, which, like electricity, reduces greenhouse gas emissions by up to 80–90% compared to fossil diesel.
In Kotka and Pyhtää, the remaining buses also use renewable diesel. In Hamina, all large-bus local services procured for Kotka region transport are operated either with electricity or renewable diesel.
Kotka region transport is part of the “Towards Zero-Emission Public Transport” network coordinated by VTT, which monitors and promotes best practices in the field toward emission-free public transport.