German bus market: a 2024 of stagnation. Bus market decreased 2%

German bus market decreased 2% in 2024 according to data released by German Federal Motor Transport Authority KBA and covered on German trade media omnibus.news. The German bus market in 2024 shows signs of stagnation after two years of modest growth: a total of 5,382 buses were newly registered bet...

Switzerland, TFP signs first deal for 24 Mercedes eCitaro (out of a 183-units framework) for Fribourg

Fribourg public transport company TPF, in Switzerland, announces it has ordered 24 Mercedes eCitaro electric buses. They are set for delivery in December 2026. This first order will be followed by others, TPF adds, as the carrier has committed to purchasing a minimum of 35 and a maximum of 183 eCita...

Hydrogen bus fire in Belfort: initial findings point to electrical cause

“The fire was not related to hydrogen or its use.” This clarification comes from Yannick Monnier, Director of the Régie des transports du Territoire de Belfort, following the incident that destroyed seven hydrogen-powered buses at the Optymo depot in Danjoutin on January 2nd 2025. In his interview w...

35 trolleybuses and 19 e-buses: new tender in Bologna (with option for further 35 trolleys)

One tender, two lots, 35 trolleybuses with IMC (In Motion Charging) technology (with an option for a further 35) and 19 BEV buses: this is included in the newest TPER Bologna’s tender aiming at going ahead with its fleet renewal plan in the name of electric traction. The total value of the ten...

Italian bus market broke all records in 2024 with nearly 5,000 units registered (1,000 e-buses)

4,920 buses and coaches were registered in Italy during 2024, up 20% on 2023, according to data provided by industry organization ANFIA and reported on Italian trade media Autobusweb (our sister media). This marks a true record in the country: the highest figure reached before 2024 was the 4,400 uni...

Swedish bus market declined 30% in 2024, with e-bus share growing to 32%

The Swedish bus market experienced a 30% drop in new registrations in 2024, with a total of 783 new buses registered. Despite the overall decline, the share of electric buses increased, reaching 32% of total registrations, up from 28% in 2023, although the figure of e-buses registered decreased 5%. ...

EIB provides €69 million loan to EMT Valencia for expansion of electric bus fleet

The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Valencia’s Empresa Municipal de Transportes (EMT) have signed a €69 million loan to help expand the city’s fleet of zero-emissions electric buses. The project includes the purchase of 145 new electric buses to replace older vehicles nearing the end of their use...

Ebusco to reduce workforce by 16% (102 employees) as part of restructuring plan

Ebusco has announced today, 31st December 2024, plans to reduce its workforce by 16.5%, affecting 102 full-time equivalent (FTE) positions. The decision is part of the company’s ongoing restructuring efforts under its Turnaround Plan, which includes a shift to the Original Equipment Designer (OED) m...

Up to 18 e-buses for King County Metro: Solaris wins first contract in the US market

Solaris has been awarded its first contract in the US market: 4 electric buses will be supplied to King County Metro, the main public transport authority in Seattle (Washington State) with a fleet of more than 1,500 buses. Specifically, this agreement includes the delivery of two 40-foot (12 m) elec...

Trends and challenges in the French bus and coach market, through the lens of Autocar Expo 2024

Despite some adversity (political instability in France, the bankruptcy of Van Hool) Autocar Expo 2024, held from 3 to 6 December in Lyon, closed the doors on a positive trend in terms of visitors and sales. But even these order books were hiding a dark reality.

Denmark, public transport authority Movia has achieved goal of 50% zero emission bus fleet ahead of plans

66 new zero emission buses entered recently in operation under the umbrella of public transport authority Movia in Denmark, marking the achievement of half fleet powered by electricity as many as six years ahead of plans. 565 electric buses are now in operation, representing 50% of its total fleet o...

Iveco Bus wins 580-units order in Germany, including 250 e-buses (200 Crossway LE Elec) and chargers

Iveco Bus has been awarded a major order by the purchasing group “BusGruppe” in Germany to supply of up to 580 vehicles over a 5-year period, including 250 fully electric buses (200 Crossway Low Entry Elec and 50 E-Way articulated) and associated charging infrastructures. Initiated by Verkehrsbetrie...

Transdev’s ownership to shift towards private capital, with Rethmann group to become major shareholder

Transdev has announced that public financial institution Caisse des Dépôts and the German-based Rethmann group have entered into exclusive negotiations: “Caisse des Dépôts has accepted the Rethmann France group’s offer to acquire an additional 32% stake in the capital of Transdev and bec...

4,000 e-buses registered in Europe in the first three quarter of 2024 (+25%). Mercedes is leading

4,000 e-buses were sold in Europe in the first three quarters of 2024 versus 3,190 in the same period of 2023, marking a 25 percent increase, according to figures by ICCT (report is HERE) and focusing on buses and coaches over 3.5 ton. Around 35 percent of city buses registered in Europe in 2024 so ...

Italian startup NEXT unveils new generation modular pod for passenger transportation. Production at scale in 2025

The 2025 generation of NEXT-made modular pod for passenger transportation is ready and will be in production starting in 2025 in the Tecnobus factories, close to Rome, with which an industrial partnership is in force. And a collaboration with the van pooling startup Wayla (powered by ioki), active i...

Competition, funding, manufacturing: How the EU bus industry can stay competitive? President Domenico Nucera explains Iveco Bus’ approach

The growing market for e-mobility (and where to place subsidies?), the focus on industrial strategies aiming at ramping up volumes, the role of partnerships and the factors that can enable traditional European OEM to keep a relevant place in the market, on the thin line between product standardizati...

Steering Ebusco on track: focus on design and engineering. But cash management comes first. Our interview with CEO Christian Schreyer

Christian Schreyer has been at the helm of Ebusco since September 2024. He took over the reins of a company that until then had been led by founder (and shareholder) Peter Bijvelds. The Supervisory Board of Ebusco decided to hand over the management of the company to an outsider. A move deemed neces...

We traveled to Lapland aboard Yutong’s T15E electric coach

On Sunday 8 December we packed our suitcase with warm clothes and flew to Oulu, Finland, to prepare for what Yutong defined as the “Extreme Cold Challenge”. Yes, because on Monday the 9th we left, heading to Rovaniemi, in Lapland, in the Arctic Circle. A journey approximately 220 kilometers long tha...

The first of +400 electric buses landed in Roma. Iveco Bus major delivery started today

The first 12-metre electric buses in the history of Rome have been presented today. They are the first units in a supply of 411 e-buses by Iveco Bus (awarded at the beginning of 2024) that are expected to be in circulation by 2026 on the capital’s roads. 110 will arrive by the end of 2024, [&h...

First Bus takes over RATP London and gets back to London

FirstGroup has signed an agreement to acquire RATP Dev Transit London for a value of 90 million pounds (around 108 million euros). In 2023, RATP London’s revenues reached 271 million pounds. The acquisition, as noted by trade media Bus & Coach Week, “will see the Group re-enter the L...

VDV on German strategy for autonomous driving: market maturity in 2027, funding are needed to scale up volumes

German public transport companies organization VDV welcomes the Federal Ministry of Transport’s strategy paper and calls for an investment offensive for ‘Level 4’. Market maturity with the first combinations of vehicle and level 4 autonomous driving system in Germany is expected by 2027, accor...

46 Solaris electric buses headed to Keolis in Sweden

Solaris has signed a contract with Keolis Sverige, one of Sweden’s largest transport operators, to supply 46 electric buses. The order includes 19 Solaris Urbino 12 electric buses and 27 Solaris Urbino 15 LE electric models, which will operate on routes in the Dalarna region, in central Sweden...

Electric buses sold in Italy in 2024 grew by 92%. Solaris top seller, then Iveco and Karsan

There are more and more electric buses in Italy. From January 1 to November 30 as many as 755 e-buses were registered, compared to 393 in the same period last year, for a growth of 92.1 percent, according to data from Anfia (National Association of the Automotive Industry Supply Chain). And consider...

Otokar strikes again: the intercity high-floor e-Territo can already be ordered. Voith engine, 500 km range

There is a lot of movement in the European intercity electric bus segment. Battery-powered traction finds its natural habitat in urban mission profiles, and on the streets of our cities, e-buses are increasing in number. But electric is also making inroads in Class II, with several Oems developing m...

Iveco Bus launches the Crossway electric high-floor. Autonomy? 500 kilometers!

After the Crossway Low Entry Elec and the Crossway Normal Floor Mild Hybrid, Iveco Bus has raised the curtain on the latest product innovation, in the name of electric: Crossway Elec high-floor, welcome! The official presentation of this intercity electric bus comes just a few days after Daimler Bus...

Iveco Bus will supply 32 electric articulated buses to De Lijn

In order to have a fully zero-emission fleet on the road by 2035, the Flemish transport company De Lijn has ordered 32 articulated electric buses from Iveco Bus: the E-Way e-buses will be delivered from 2025-2026. This is a follow-up order to an existing framework agreement worth around €24 million....

California’s first wireless charging road, thanks to Electreon and University of Los Angeles

In the lead-up to the Los Angeles Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2028, UCLA has received a $19.85 million grant that gives continuity to the Electreon-led electric bus wireless roadside charging project and will enable UCLA’s BruinBus fleet (the year-round vehicles that serve the UCLA campus ...

Wrightbus completes delivery of hydrogen buses in Cologne, Germany (with plans to grow in Europe)

UK bus maker Wrightbus announces it has completed delivery of 31 fuel cell buses for the German operator Regionalverkehr Köln Gmbh (RVK). They are the first ever Wrightbus vehicles on European soil: testing is underway before the fleet goes into service across the Cologne region.  In May 2022 Wright...

Scania believes in LNG coaches (while developing a plug-in hybrid). And the e-bus chassis is ready for the market

Scania bets strong(er) on LNG on the touristic segment, and in the meanwhile is developing a plug-in hybrid platform for coaches (you read that right). Scania Italia‘s 2024 has been a record year for the bus segment. And the group is finally entering the e-bus segment (starting with the Class ...

Karsan set to enter intercity e-bus market in early 2025 (with a Low Entry model)

Karsan is set to introduce a intercity Low Entry electric bus model starting in early 2025. It will mark the debut of Karsan in the intercity electric bus market – as well as in the Class II market at all. In the same segment, the latest news are the launch of Irizar i3 in BEV version [&hellip...

In China sales of e-bus and coach sales are decreasing since 2017 (only 6% of coaches are ZE)

While electric bus share in the city bus segment is “almost 100%” as of mid-2024 in China, electrification of coaches is lagging (a lot) behind: their share was around 6% in the first half of 2024. The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) released a new report on zero-emi...

Geely takes a 25% stake in Menarinibus (former Industria Italiana Autobus)

Geely takes a 25% stake in Menarini and will provide know-how for the development of 6 and 8-meter e-bus models. Geely led Chinese new energy bus market in 2023 (thanks to small-sized vehicles), according to Interact Analysis, thanks to sales figures around 75,000 electrified trucks and buses. The o...

London, Go Ahead starts deploying the first Irizar e-buses in UK

Starting November 20th, the first Irizar ie trams started being put into service on one of the longest bus lines in London between Crystal Palace and Orpington. With this project, Irizar e-mobility will electrify the first bus line with ultra-fast opportunity charging in London, following a contract...

Former Italian bodybuilder Sitcar, under Sira Industrie ownership, turns to in-house minibus production (and Higer dealership)

31 May 2023 was the turning point. It was the day the Sira Industrie Group took control of Sitcar, a historic bus bodybuilder based in the Italian Motor Valley (province of Modena), an active player in the production of minibuses, school buses and special vehicles since 1978. Almost 16 months have p...

Ebusco has raised 36 million euros via right issue

Ebusco announces it has raised a total of EUR 36 million through the successful completion of its Rights Issue. Results of the Rights Issue. The final gross proceeds of the Rights Issue amount to EUR 36 million, corresponding to the issuance of 43,853,031 new ordinary shares at an issue price per sh...

Mercedes eIntouro will be available for orders in early 2025. Daimler first intercity e-bus runs on LFP batteries by CATL

Mercedes eIntouro will be available for orders in first quarter of 2025. The near-production prototype of the BEV version of Daimler Buses’ intercity bus has been presented today at eMobility Days 2024 in Berlin, where a series of other novelties have been presented (including new battery part...

Highlights from Euro Bus Expo 2024: Karsan, VDL Van Hool, Mellor, Alexander Dennis, Yutong, Irizar

This week we attended Euro Bus Expo, the UK’s biennial bus and coach market exhibition. While the show offered limited product innovations, there were notable developments in industrial and commercial strategies. Looking at the main manufacturers in UK, notable absentees included Volvo (that had a 1...

Under Dumarey’s umbrella, Mellor will produce vans powered with hydrogen combustion engines from 2026

Mellor is undergoing a major strategic shift following its late-2023 acquisition by Dumarey Group, who took over parent company WN VTech after it entered into administration. Under the new leadership, Mellor has refocused its priorities, discontinuing the Sigma range (launched in 2021 and strongly p...

Solaris wins tender for 45 24-meter electric buses in Belgium

Solaris has won a tender for 45 double-articulated Urbino 24 electric buses, that will be integrated into the transport network of the Belgian city of Liège. The first order under this tender was placed for 18 buses, the OEM says, by Wallonia’s regional transport company (Opérateur de transport de W...

Karsan’s e-Jest lands in the UK (through EVM). Next targets? Australia and Malta

After Japan, so does the United Kingdom: Karsan is now also expanding to Britain, bringing its e-Jest electric minibus to the island. The Turkish manufacturer, at the Euro Bus Expo in Birmingham, presented the model with right side drive. Karsan at Euro Bus Expo: expansion in UK The vehicle, six met...

New driverless project for Karsan: in Gothenburg from spring 2025

An autonomous bus pilot is set to begin in Gothenburg, Sweden, in spring 2025. Passengers will be welcomed on board since August. The news is reported on Swedish trade media Bussmagasinet.se. PTA and PTO in charge of the project are Västtrafik and Vy Buss. Technological partners? The Norwegian compa...

Ebusco proposes partnership with Chinese battery manufacturer Gotion (that would be investing in Ebusco)

Ebusco is willing to establish a strategic partnership with Chinese battery manufacturer Gotion. Within the partnership, Gotion is considering “an equity participation in Ebusco“, the bus OEM shares in a press note released today, 8th November 2024. However, the deal is presented as a &#...

Stagecoach deploys further 64 e-buses in Coventry (from Alexander Dennis and Yutong)

Coventry City Council’s target to be the UK’s first all-electric bus fleet by 2025 has received a boost as another 64 buses are being rolled out across the city by Stagecoach. This means that more than 200 buses, 80% of all those operating within and travelling into the city, will now be electric ba...

Final report on RATP buses on fire in 2022 is out. Cause? Thermal runaway. “Mylar insulation had been incorrectly positioned”

The most likely direct cause of the fires involving RATP e-buses (by BlueBus) that went on fire in 2022 in Paris “is an intercell short-circuit caused by thermal runaway in the high-voltage batteries that power these all-electric vehicles”, reads the report of the technical investigation...

Evolution of the UK bus market, new models analyzed, fuel cell buses compared, Yutong U18 test driven: new mag issue is out!

A new issue of Sustainable Bus Magazine – fourth and latest for 2024 – is here! This edition dives (again) into pivotal updates across the zero-emission landscape, with a special focus on Europe’s public transport transformation. Cover story? Test driving the Yutong U18. Highlights? Deve...

Haifa BRT system will be equipped with wireless charging by Electreon

Israeli wireless charging solutions provider Electreon announces it has signed an agreement with TransIsrael, a Ministry of Transport agency, to build an advanced electric road system (ERS) on Haifa’s BRT lines. The project will provide dynamic and stationary wireless charging along dedicated ...

Provisional insolvency proceedings for Quantron

Augsburg-based zero-emission vehicle manufacturer Quantron has been in provisional insolvency proceedings since last week. The company has released an official note about it on 31st October. Quantron was initially seen as a rising star in alternative fuel trucks with goals to expand to North America...

Hungary, Volánbusz to deploy further 20 Ikarus electric buses

Hungarian operator Volánbusz is set to expand its fleet with 20 Ikarus 120e buses. Supported by the Ministry of Energy and the HUMDA Hungarian Mobility Development Agency, part of the Széchenyi University Group, the bus fleets will be deployed in Balatonfüred, Hajdúszoboszló, Keszthely, Komárom, Kom...

California, SamTrans procures 108 fuel cell buses from New Flyer

New Flyer received a new firm order for 108 zero-emission hydrogen fuel cell Xcelsior Charge FC 40-foot transit buses from San Mateo County Transit (SamTrans), marking the largest single fuel cell bus order in New Flyer’s history. The contract for 108 buses was added to New Flyer’s backlog in Q2 202...

Heliox is converting 5 further First Bus depots to electric charging operation (for over 190 e-buses)

Heliox and First Bus are collaborating on five new electric bus charging depots in Bristol, Weston-super-Mare, Minehead, Taunton, and Basildon. They’ll have a combined capacity to charge over 190 vehicles simultaneously First Bus is investing £89 million to expand electric fleet across the UK ...

Ebusco’s shareholders adopt all resolutions to pursue company restructuring (new liquidity needed)

Ebusco’s shareholders adopted all resolutions on the agenda of 24th October’s meeting in order to go ahead with the turnover plan, put its operations in order and avoid bankruptcy, that appeared quite close after the loss of a court case against Qbuzz on the 23rd October. The meeting hel...

Ebusco loses crucial court case against Qbuzz and gets closer to insolvency

Bus operator Qbuzz was allowed to terminate an agreement with bus manufacturer Ebusco and therefore does not have to purchase 45 electric buses. The news has been reported first on De Rechtspraak and on the Telegraaf. Reportedly, this was decided on 23th October afternoon in Utrecht by the prelimina...

Irizar launches new i3 intercity e-bus model at FIAA

Irizar has launched the new i3 intercity e-bus model at FIAA in Madrid. On show there are: also a new generation Irizar i6S Efficient unit, an i6S Efficient Hydrogen, and an Irizar ie tram urban electric vehicle. The bodywork of the new electric Irizar i3 is available in an integral self-supporting ...

…and the Sustainable Bus Awards 2025 go to Solaris Urbino Electric, MAN Lion’s City E LE and Scania Touring LNG

Sustainable Bus Awards 2025 winners Solaris, MAN and Scania have been announced during FIAA gala night in Madrid. This international award, judged by a panel of 10 journalists from 10 different countries acknowledges the cutting-edge technologies that are shaping the future of mobility. Last year th...

Ebusco starts legal proceedings against customer for payment of 45 buses

Ebusco announces it has initiated legal proceedings against a customer for payment for 45 buses. The Dutch company has largely suspended its production in anticipation of the outcome of the court hearing and the completion of the contemplated rights issue “to preserve its working capital&#8221...

Transdev has ordered 96 e-buses from Solaris for deployment in Utrecht (Netherlands)

Transdev Nederland has placed an order for as many as 96 Solaris Urbino Electric buses. The OEM has just announced the deal, that dates back to earlier this year, as Solaris points out. Deliveries are scheduled for the last quarter of 2025. Solaris to deliver electric buses in Utrecht Transdev Neder...

The case for Tesla Bus project: a story of odd statements and enigmatic pictures

Electric buses are becoming widespread in cities around the world. What about Tesla hitting the market with an electric bus model? Let’s start from the end: in October 2024 Elon Musk presented the Tesla Robovan, able to carry up to 20 passengers and autonomously-driven. The Verge website also ...

Hess will complete manufacturing of Paris’ trambuses in place of Van Hool

Trambuses in Paris, previously commissioned by Ile-de-France Mobilités to Van Hool, will now be manufactured by Swiss company Hess. 56 units are set to be in operation in the French capital. As reported on the French media Ville rail & transport, the PTA went in search of a new constructor follo...

Iveco Bus launches e-bus manufacturing in Annonay (in addition to Rorthais)

Iveco Bus is set to produce e-buses also in its main French plant of Annonay, in addition to the Heuliez Bus facility in Rorthais that has been so far the ‘hub’ for e-bus manufacturing within the Iveco Group. The manufacturer also has an ongoing investment plan of 600 million euros in th...

German e-bus market grew +19% in the first half of the year (with Mercedes, MAN and VDL on the podium)

353 new electric buses were registered in Germany in the first half of the year, surpassing the 297 registered in the same period in 2023. Growth rate? +19 percent. These figures are reported by German trade media omnibus.news and are based on statistics by KBA. This increase has yet to reflect the ...

Sustainable Bus Tour session “On the way to a fully zero emission city bus market in 2035?”: REPLAY and SLIDES

The second session of the Sustainable Bus Tour 2024 took place on October 2nd in Strasbourg, during the European Mobility Expo show (former Transport Publics). Entitled “On the way to a fully zero emission city bus market in 2035? Technology | business case | market uptake“, the conference delved in...

Netherlands, 157 VDL e-buses headed to Arriva’s West Brabant concession

Arriva has placed an order for 157 electric buses from VDL Bus & Coach, destined for the new West Brabant concession, which will enter into operation on 6 July 2025. The operator has been awarded the concession in early 2024. A new bus fleet of more than 200 zero-emission vehicles&nbsp...

E-bus sales grew 35 percent in the first half of 2024, ICCT states (but their share is decreasing)

Sales of zero emission buses and coaches in Europe increased 35% (from 2,088 units to 2,819 units) in the first half of 2024, according to the International Council on Clean Transportation. However, “the overall market share of zero-emission buses and coaches declined from 16% in the first hal...

Arriva wins zero-emission bus tender in Budapest and will roll out 82 BYD e-buses from end 2025

Arriva announces it has been successful in its bid to be the first operator of an electric bus fleet in the Hungarian capital of Budapest, following the award of two new 12-year contracts by the Budapest Transport Centre (BKK) authorities. Contracts were signed at a ceremony on October 3, 2024. Arri...

What we have seen at European Mobility Expo in Strasbourg

European Mobility Expo has been live from Tuesday 1st October until 3 October in Strasbourg, exceptionally in the city that hosts the seat of the European Parliament and not in Paris, due to logistics issues related with the Olympic year. Within the expo, bus OEMs are well represented (among others:...

Cosmobilis becomes Karsan’s dealer in France and Benelux by taking over majority of HCI

Karsan took the opportunity of European Mobility Expo in Strasbourg to announce a new partnership agreement with Cosmobilis Group to strengthen its operations in France, Belgium, Switzerland, and Luxembourg. Through this agreement, HCI, a company in which Karsan holds shares, has been restructured w...

Electric bus, main fleets and projects around the world

Electric bus adoption in public transport urban fleet is growing all over the world. It started in China, and it has taken a few years for other regions to start the transition. In the first half of 2024, according to ACEA’s figures, the European zero emission city bus market grew 45%, wi...

On the way to a fully zero emission city bus market in 2035″: Sustainable Bus Tour at European Mobility Expo

The second session of the Sustainable Bus Tour 2024 is set to take place on October 2nd in Strasbourg, during the European Mobility Expo show (former Transport Publics). Entitled “On the way to a fully zero emission city bus market in 2035? Technology | business case | market uptake“, the conference...

Three new supply contracts for Iveco Bus in France, for a total of 51 e-buses and Fcev

Fifty-one buses, 31 hydrogen fuel cell and 20 electric, all E-Way models. Iveco Bus consolidates its position as market leader in France by winning three supply contracts for zero-emission buses. The Cannes Lérins Urban Community has renewed its partnership with Oem by ordering twelve Gx 337 H2 Lini...

BYD has delivered 100 e-buses for operations in Uruguay

On September 19, BYD delivered 100 fully electric buses to CUTCSA, Uruguay’s largest electric public transit operator, at its Qingdao factory. CUTSCA expressed its commitment to achieving a fully electrified fleet by 2040 through continued collaboration. A study out in late 2023 forecasted that 25,0...

Bolloré Group: new battery range is coming (and a 18-meter e-bus model is not excluded). Our interview

Works are underway at Bolloré for the introduction of a new generation of solid-state batteries with a 20-minute charging time and 50% higher energy density. Additionally, Bluebus might be eyeing future expansion of its product lineup: 18-meter model is not excluded. At IAA Transportation 2024, Rich...

Chinese Geely set to invest in Industria Italiana Autobus? Looks like a fake news…

Sources well informed on the facts, quoted by Italian trade media Autobusweb, deny the news about a board meeting held last week to evaluate the proposed partnership with the Chinese group Geely. In fact, there would be no real confirmation of what was reported.

MAN wins tender to provide 52 e-buses in Schiphol airport. They’ll replace 10-years old BYD buses

After Munich airport, MAN is providing e-buses also in Amsterdam Schiphol airport. 52 zero emission buses have just been commissioned, the airport reports, and are set to transport passengers between the aircraft and the terminal. MAN Truck & Bus has just been awarded the tender, that saw 5 OEMs...

ZF will support the development of Iveco Bus electric-born architecture for next generation buses

Iveco Bus and ZF are entering a cooperation aiming at deploying e-mobility solutions for passenger transportation. The announcement was made at IAA Hannover and it’s quite surprising as up to now Iveco e-buses have been equipped with Siemens (now Cummins) e-powertrain. What is also worth notic...

Impact launches new automated line to double battery production (up to 1.2 GWh) in 2024

Polish battery systems make Impact Clean Power Technology has launched what the company claims being “Europe’s most modern, highly automated” lithium-ion battery production line. The new line, designed and manufactured by Teamtechnik, will allow the company to increase its generati...

Habas prepares to enter the European and Turkish bus market. Series production in November 2024

Habas officially entered the bus world at Busworld 2023 in Brussels. Habas’ bus division is the latest challenge from a Turkish group with a capital “g,” as it has an 80 percent market share in the gas market in the motherland, operating in disparate sectors: iron, steel, shipyards, ports, and...

The Fencer by Scania-Higer will soon be available in Germany and Austria

After debuting in the UK in 2021, Scania and Higer have decided to bring the Fencer to continental Europe as well. We picked up the news at IAA Transportation in Hannover, where the bus model was not physically present at the show. The news is the decision to market the range in Germany and Austria,...

Buses and coaches at IAA Transportation 2024, Mercedes eCitaro K and King Long BEV coach in the spotlight

The IAA Transportation 2024 event in Hanover is running from September 17, to 22. Latest advancements in commercial vehicles, logistics, and transport sectors will be shown, with a specific focus on the truck market. In fact, despite being a leading platform for the industry, bus manufacturers have ...

What’s in the spotlight of latest Sustainable Bus magazine? New issue is out!

The third issue of Sustainable Bus Magazine 2024 is now out! In this edition, we explore Irizar’s insights on the future of zero-emission technology, the development strategies of Ekoenergetyka, Kempower and FPT Industrial, the features of battery-electric coach Temsa LD SB E and of 18-meter e-buses...

Karsan will provide fuel cell buses equipped with Toyota fuel cells starting in 2025

Karsan has signed a H2-powered cooperation with Toyota. The two companies plan to launch their first hydrogen fuel cell-equipped buses in 2025. In the fuel cell bus sector, Toyota is already working with Portuguese CaetanoBus and Daimler Buses. Karsan fuel cell buses with Toyota modules Karsan intro...

Irizar e-mobility to deliver 1,000th electric bus (and provides 2 vehicles to carrier La Veloz in Madrid)

Irizar e-mobility is set to deliver their 1000th e-bus soon, 8 years after foundation of the company under the umbrella of Irizar group. Following this announcement, the manufacturer states that La Veloz, a company belonging to the Samar Group, will incorporate by end of the month two new electric b...

58 per cent of planned zero emission bus orders set to be cancelled in Germany after halt in subsidies, VDV states

In Germany, every 100 zero emission buses to be tendered according to plans, only 42 are set to be effectively procured following halt of subsidies. A recent industry survey of VDV member companies specifically shows that of the 2,396 locally emission-free city buses originally planned, only 42 per ...

A fleet of MAN Lion’s City E electric buses headed to operations in Munich Airport

Munich Airport, one of the busiest aviation hubs in Europe, has ordered a total of 49 electric buses from MAN Truck & Bus, with an option for a further 25 vehicles. The first ten solo vehicles are currently being delivered to AeroGround, the airport’s subsidiary for ground handling and tra...

Who is CCIG (China City Industrial Group), the Chinese giant ready to take 25% of Industria Italiana Autobus

Four letters, one abbreviation, one acronym: Ccig. Four letters, one abbreviation, one acronym that stand for China City Industrial Group. We went to look for some information on the entity that has been much talked about for months (since June 4) for its interest in taking over a share of the capit...

Como and its Lake getting more electric: 23 Yutong e-buses (10 and 12 meters long) for ASF Autolinee

These are not the first ever electric buses to join Asf Autolinee‘s fleet, as in the past few months the operator had welcomed the first two into the family. Earlier today we were invited to attend the unveiling of 23 Yutong e-buses (through Italian dealer Powerbus, owned by Massimo Fiorese) t...

12 fuel cell buses by Iveco Bus / Heuliez Bus headed to Cannes… with BRT design!

Iveco Bus will supply its first E-Way H2 (although under Heuliez Bus brand GX 337 H2 Linium, which is still in force in the France market) to the Cannes Lérins Urban Community with deliveries starting in the second half of 2025. Also battery-electric by Iveco Bus have been delivered so far (35 units...

VDL Bus & Coach turnover dropped -14% in the first half of 2024 (with car assembly division pulling group’s results negative)

2024 is not looking as a positive year for VDL Group financial results. Combined turnover of the group is dropping, and the bus and coach division is still facing very though time, with turnover falling -14% compared to Jan-Jun 2023. And it should be noted that 2023 had also been a truly bad year fo...

Swedish Connect Bus cancels order for 47 Ebusco e-buses amid delivery delays

Swedish carrier Connect Bus has decided to switch electric bus supplier due to significant delivery delays from Ebusco, is reported on Swedish trade media Bussmagasinet.se. Connect Bus will also be seeking financial compensation from Ebusco. Originally, Connect Bus had planned to introduce 47 new el...

What is happening at Industria Italiana Autobus? New owner, Bologna’s plant at risk, potential partnership with Chinese CCIG

Italian bus manufacturer Industria Italiana Autobus (IIA), with plants in Bologna and Flumeri, is navigating a turbulent period following its acquisition by Seri Industrial in June 2024. The takeover has sparked concern among political leaders and labor unions, particularly after plans to shut down ...

Arriva is introducing 16 new SOR electric buses in Kladno, Czech Republic

Arriva Group is set to introduce 16 new electric buses in Czech Republic. The next-generation vehicles will operate from a new purpose-built charging hub in the city of Kladno as 47 diesel and CNG buses begin to be phased out by the city, Arriva states. The order is the biggest single purchase of el...

Battery swapping technology for heavy-duty vehicles: a Indian premiere by SUN Mobility and Veera Vahana

SUN Mobility and Veera Vahana showcased India’s first modular battery swapping technology for Heavy Commercial Vehicles at Prawaas 4.0 held in late August in Bangalore. Now SUN Mobility has tied relations with bus manufacturer Veera Vahana, based in Bangalore, in order to launch what is claime...

5,900 e-buses are in operation in Latin America, with BYD, Foton and Yutong leading

Around 5,900 electric buses are in operation in 41 cities in 12 Latin American countries, according to data highlighted in the E-Bus Radar, whose update was launched during South American trade expo LAT.BUS 2024 in early August. Launched in 2020, the initiative, backed by the Zero Emission Bus Rapid...

One out of two e-buses registered in France in first half 2024 were Iveco (Bluebus, Mercedes and Irizar follow)

Iveco, Bluebus and Daimler Buses are so far leading the e-bus market 2024 in France. In the country, as already reported, electric bus registrations decreased 16% compared to the first half of 2023, vs a 45% increase in e-bus registrations in the continent. As reported by German trade media omnibus....

EKA 9 launched: the electric midibus by Pinnacle Mobility Solutions launched at Prawaas 4.0 in Bangalore

Unveiling of the EKA 9, the company's 9-meter electric city bus, has been among the key moment of Prawaas 4.0 event 2024 in Bangalore, India. EKA by Pinnacle Mobility Solutions is the latest initiative from the Pinnacle Industries group. Pinnacle Industries, a leading automotive seating, interiors, ...

Christian Schreyer joins Ebusco as new CEO within process of company’s restructuring

Ebusco‘s Supervisory Board has appointed Christian Schreyer as new CEO in the framework of the turnaround plan put in place by the company’s Executive Team. In this process, “it was concluded that the organisation should be led by a single CEO with a general management track record...

MAN will deliver the first electric coach to FC Bayern as a team bus in 2025/26 season. Charging park coming at Allianz Arena

A new project for a charging park dedicated to electric trucks and buses was recently unveiled at the Allianz Arena in Munich, the iconic home of FC Bayern Munich and one of the most advanced football stadiums in the world. What is interesting, MAN announced it will deliver the first all-electric co...

Daimler Buses and ChargePoint have signed a collaboration agreement

Daimler Buses and ChargePoint have signed a collaboration agreement to enable transportation companies with multi-brand fleets to use vehicle data from Mercedes-Benz and Setra buses without additional hardware and on a larger scale in ChargePoint’s fleet management system. With Omniplus On dig...

Slovakia, SOR and Skoda will supply up to 30 articulated e-buses to Košice (to be charged via overhead system)

The consortium of SOR Libchavy and Škoda Group has signed a framework contract with Košice Public Transport Company, in Slovakia, for the delivery of up to 30 articulated 18-metre electric buses in the second largest city in the country. What is worth noticing, the vehicles are set to be charged dur...

FlixBus trials London – Cambridge electric coach service (in partnership with Whippet and Zenobē)

FlixBus has launched in mid August a 100% electric long-distance coach service between Cambridge and London in partnership with carrier Whippet and Zenobē. The route is an almost 200km (124 miles) round trip, and is trialled for six weeks on FlixBus’ long-distance coach network. The news follows the...

MAN received an order for 181 electric buses in Belgium, by Hansea

Belgian private bus operator Hansea has 90 MAN Lion’s City E buses in operation and in early August landed a deal for a further 181 e-buses from the same OEM, bringing its fleet to a total of 271 of the fully electric city buses. A success story that began back in 2021 with the test […]

Alexander Dennis Enviro400EV ready for London: the TfL-compliant DD e-bus can host up to 96 passengers

The bus, fitted with 472kWh batteries as standard (the supplier is the Polish Impact), comes together with a 14-years warranty, covering as many as 1 million km (whichever comes first). The vehicle launched this week is a demonstrator "which will be made available to operators upon completion of its...

MVG rolls out 13 MAN electric buses in Munich, thus bringing its e-bus fleet to 71 units

MVG is rolling out 13 new electric buses by MAN in Munich’s streets. The fleet of battery-powered Lion’s City 12 E buses will join 21 e-buses, also from MAN, operating in the city since 2023, thus expanding the e-bus fleet of Munich’s largest public transport company, coming to 71 ...

131 fuel cell buses deployed in Europe: JIVE 1 project has come to an end

With 131 hydrogen buses deployed in the continent, European major fuel cell bus project Joint Initiative for hydrogen Vehicles across Europe (JIVE 1) has come to an end. Vehicles have been rolled out in Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and the UK, marking a significant step towards sustainable urban...

Ebusco half 2024 results: EBITDA loss grows to €60 million, revenue down 9%. Turnaround Plan is coming

Ebusco half 2024 financial results show EBITDA loss of €60.7 million (increased 40% compared to 43 in 2023) and revenue at €38 million (-8.8%). Just 98 buses were delivered, vs a order book of as many as 1,662 buses. “Scaling up with contract manufacturers has been hampered by start-up ineffic...

Zero emission bus registrations +45% in Europe in H1 2024, says ACEA: Germany and Spain grew, France decreased

Zero emission bus registrations grew 45% in the first half of 2024, according to data from ACEA. Their market share increased from 13.7% to 15.5% (17% considering also EFTA countries and UK). Looking at 2023, still according to ACEA, electric bus registrations in the European Union “increased by 39....

Wiener Linien buys short hydrogen city buses (by Rampini) for operations in city centre

From mid-2025, the electric buses in Vienna’s city centre will be replaced by new fuel cell buses. It’s a stark opening, that of the press release sent out by Wiener Linien on 29th July. Stark because it implies a change of direction compared to what done so far (and to what is common al...

Winners announced for ScotZEB 2 programme: Zenobe lead the consortium, Ember among main beneficiaries

A bus industry consortium led by Zenobē is to deploy 252 electric buses (and coaches!) in Scotland within the Scottish Government’s Zero Emission Bus Challenge Fund (ScotZEB 2). Phase 2 of ScotZEB differed from Phase 1 (launched in 2021) in that applicants had to cooperatively pitch as part of a con...

Iveco wins tender for 70 electric buses for Nantes (branded by Heuliez)

70 Iveco Bus E-Way electric buses (although branded as Heuliez models as usual in the domestic market) are set to operate in Nantes following a call for tenders commission of Nantes Métropole. The new buses will be operated by carrier Semitan (a semi-public company 65% owned by Nantes Métropole and ...

Völklinger Verkehrsbetriebe expands integrated smart charging system from INIT with CarMedialab’s MOBILEcharge

The Völklinger Verkehrsbetriebe has opted for the charge management system MOBILEcharge from CarMedialab, a subsidiary of the INIT Group, to efficiently manage the charging processes of its constantly growing fleet of e-buses.  The installation is planned for July 2024 and includes the integration o...

TMB puts into service its first Solaris fuel cell bus out of 38-units order

TMB Barcelona has put into service the first fuel cell buses out of a 38-units order awarded to Solaris (36 12-meter and 2 articulated). The supply was formalized in early 2024. Unlike the buses from other manufacturers that have been put into circulation, this one will not be used on the X1 line, b...

Yutong e-buses will replace Van Hool in future delivery for Qbuzz

Qbuzz will take over the Zuid-Holland Noord concession in the Netherlands as of 15 December 2024. Formerly ordered (March 2023) 15-meter Van Hool e-buses will be replaced by Yutong vehicles, is reported by the operator, that has also shared some rendering. 50 units of Yutong U15 e-buses have been or...

Arriva London orders 51 double decker e-buses from Volvo, based on BZL chassis

Arriva London has placed an order for 51 Volvo BZL Electric Double Deck buses. They’ll housed in Tottenham garage and serve routes 341 and 243 from 2025. Volvo will take care of chassis while bodywork will be provided by Egyptian MCV. According to UK trade media Routeone, “The buses will...

Irizar will launch a electric intercity bus model at FIAA in October

Irizar will launch a intercity electric bus model (the first in its history) during the second half of 2024. It’ll be showcased at FIAA in Madrid. The plan has been anticipated by Irizar to the jury of the Sustainable Bus Award, whose Italian member is our sister magazine AUTOBUS, during a vis...

UK on the way to take back public ownership on the bus networks via franchising?

In the UK outside London, there’s growing media attention on the prospect of public ownership of the bus network via franchised services. Can this hybrid model of public ownership with private operation arrest the decline in bus patronage?  Margaret Thatcher, UK Prime Minister between 1979 and ...

Van Hool: crisis, bankruptcy, VDL new ownership. An emblematic story on the trends on the European bus industry

The crisis of the Belgian bus manufacturer Van Hool, its bankruptcy and subsequent takeover by the Dutch group VDL is a story that has monopolised the interest of the bus and coach industry in a 2024 that sees the European bus industry changing shape dramatically. The Van Hool – VDL story ties...

Otokar’s expansion in Europe continues: after the one in Italy, it opens a branch in Germany as well

After Italy, with the acquisition of what used to be its dealer for the Italian market, namely Mauri Bus System and the creation of Otokar Italia, a subsidiary of Otokar Europe and under the Koç Group umbrella, now the Turkish Oem is also going to conquer the German market, where it has decided to o...

E-mobility according to Scania: with the birth of Erinion will install 40,000 charging points by 2030

Scania has strengthened its e-mobility offering with new charging solutions through the establishment of Erinion, a new company specializing in private and semi-public charging solutions that plans to install 40,000 new charging points by 2030. In addition, the public-use charging infrastructure for...

Sustainable Bus Video Test Drive: Temsa LD SB E, a forerunner in the nascent intercity BEV market

The Temsa LD SB E intercity BEV bus model was presented for the first time at the IAA expo in Hannover in 2022 and re-proposed at Busworld in Brussels in October 2023 It joins a zero-emission line-up that already includes the urban battery-powered Temsa Avenue Electron and the electric version of th...

Italian bus market shows +44% growth in the first half of 2024. E-buses? +83%

The Italian bus market is flourishing in 2024, building on the already strong trend observed in 2023, significantly boosted by Next Generation EU funding initiatives aimed at fleet renewal. According to the latest report from the manufacturers’ organization ANFIA, covered on Italian trade medi...

Alexander Dennis will deliver 41 e-buses for operations in London (by Stagecoach)

Stagecoach will receive 24 Enviro100EV small buses and 17 Enviro400EV double deckers in early 2025 for routes operated on behalf of the capital’s transport authority Transport for London (TfL). The OEM has delivered in March 2024 to the same operator its first new generation e-bus. And Stagecoach re...

TMB will have 25% zero emission buses in its fleet by end 2024. Line H12 soon to be electric

Barcelona’s H12 line will be fully electric by the end of the year, as ultra-fast chargers have been installed at both ends of the line and all buses circulating on the route will be soon electric. Charge management system will be done by Carmedialab. TMB currently has 147 electric buses and w...

Spain, TUC Pamplona rolls out 10 Irizar ie tram electric buses

Irizar e-mobility has just delivered in Pamplona, Spain, a fleet of 10 new zero emission e-buses (model ie tram, 12-meter length). These ten buses join the other ten ie trams that have been running in the Pamplona region since February. Pamplona rolls out Irizar e-buses The vehicles, which have a tr...

VDL “has not taken over the warranty obligations on Van Hool buses and coaches already delivered”, according to OEM’s feedback to FBAA

The Federation of Belgian Bus and Coach Operators (FBAA) has received from VDL answers to some questions about how VDL is going to behave concerning obligations and warranties of Van Hool vehicles following takeover of the company, as reported on Belgian trade media PVMagazine. Such answers were rec...

Solaris Urbino 12 Electric: the ID card of the European most successful electric bus model

Solaris Urbino 12 Electric is a quite well-known model for those into the European bus market. with over 2,500 e-buses delivered, Solaris is today the leading European player in the zero-emission bus sector. The New Solaris Urbino, a highly successful model launched in 2016, have been available in a...

Milan on the way to a fully zero emission bus fleet in 2030. 550 e-buses to be purchased by 2026

For years now, ATM Milan has taken up the challenge of energy transition and, to date, the operator that manages the city’s public transport system, has around 250 electric buses in its fleet (which will become 300 by the end of 2024), out of a total of 1,200 vehicles. ATM’s goal is well...

EQT and Kühne Holding take a 35% stake in Flix

Global investment organisation EQT and logistics investor Kühne Holding are going to acquire a 35% minority stake in Flix.  Such investment is part of “a long-term strategic partnership built on a common vision for Flix’s next phase of profitable growth across new and existing markets and offe...

Volvo has stopped production of the 9700 and 9900 range with Sunsundegui

Volvo Buses has reportedly decided to discontinue production of the 9700 and 9900 coach range, according to a report published today, 4 July, in the Swedish trade media Bussmagasinet.se, which also quotes statements from Volvo Buses press office. The move to back out of the agreement with Sunsundegu...

MAN launches bus and coach family in model year 2024 with new electronic platform and more ADAS

MAN has significantly upgraded its entire MAN and Neoplan bus series with many new features in order to accomplish European safety regulations. Model year 2024 bus and coach ranges have been unveiled in Saalfelden, Austria, during a European press meeting serving also as pre-IAA Transportation press...

De Lijn rolls out its first VDL Citea new generation in Ghent (out of a 24-units order)

De Lijn announces it is rolling out the first new generation electric buses by VDL into service from its Destelbergen depot on 1 July. The first 5 of 24 e-buses from VDL will strengthen the Flemish Transport Company’s electric fleet in the Ghent region. Order dates back to late 2021. The very ...

Equipmake is ready to repower Wrightbus Streetdeck buses with modular drivetrain and 436 kWh battery

Latest version of Equipmake’s modular electric chassis is set to be used for repowering of one of the UK’s most in-service double deckers: the Wrightbus Streetdeck. The conversion implies “no reduction in passenger carrying capacity giving”, Equipmake states. Oddly enough, the same Wrigh...

2,500 zero emission buses were awarded in Italy in 2023, Motus-E study founds

In 2023 nearly 2,500 zero-emission buses have been awarded in Italy for an investment of 1.8 billion euros. Most of those will have to be in operation by June 2026, according to the schedule of Next Generation Europe fundings. The “Electrification trends in local public transport” report...

Alexander Dennis scores largest e-bus single order ever (including the new integral single decker)

244. This is the number of e-buses ordered by Stagecoach following the UK Government’s Zero-Emission Regional Bus Areas scheme (ZEBRA 2) award. The operator has then placed the largest single order of Alexander Dennis’ zero-emission buses to date (including the first order for the OEM’s new in...

Ebusco is looking for further cost saving measures as it will not achieve positive EBITDA in 2024

Ebusco says its current guidance of revenue in excess of €325 million combined with a positive EBITDA in 2024, released in March 2024, is no longer achievable. The change of strategy, heading towards assembly process (with partner in China) with only bus finalization to be done in Deurne, Netherland...

European OEMs’ market share in the EU e-bus segment has declined 20% since 2017, Rabobank says

Rabobank's analysis is that it put down in black and white, with figures, the trend of increasing present of Chinese manufacturers in the European e-bus sector. "After 2017, market share of EU manufacturers declined from 74% to 54% in 2023. In the same period, Chinese manufacturers have increased th...

E-buses are set to exceed 60% of sales by 2030 globally, according to BloombergNEF

“Municipal buses continue to electrify at a rapid pace and exceed 60% of sales already by 2030, reaching 83% by 2040” states the latest Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) latest 2024 Electric Vehicle Outlook. Today municipal buses, estimated to be 3.4 million worldwide, emit no more tha...

Volkswagen presented concept with NTO ultra-fast charging battery by CBMM – Toshiba in Latin America

Volkswagen Truck & Bus has started operational tests of a prototype electric bus powered with batteries fitted with NTO developed by CBMM together with Toshiba, an unprecedented use in the global automotive industry, as this technology allows for ultra-fast recharging. Also, according to the par...

Wrightbus launches repowering programme NewPower in former Arrival headquarter

Bus manufacturer Wrightbus has launched a new re-powering service by launching NewPower, a new entity headquartered at the former location of EV startup Arrival. The goal is that of “eradicating diesel powertrains in older fleets at a substantially lower price than a new bus”. Wrightbus ...

Solaris, new deliveries to Sweden: Nobina orders 88 e-buses, Urbino 15 LE and Urbino 18

Solaris has secured new contracts to supply electric buses in the Scandinavian market, specifically the Swedish market. In fact, Nobina, Scandinavia’s largest operator, has ordered a total of 88 electric buses from the Polish manufacturer (CAF Group) for its fleet operating in three regions: S...

BVG faces cut in budget for procurement of e-buses (from 33 to 8M euros), according to local media

The budget allocated for the procurement of electric buses in Berlin this year has been dramatically reduced. Originally set at 33.11 million euros, the budget now stands at a mere eight million euros, according to a report from the German publication Tagesspiegel, as covered by trade agency Electri...

HTM begins the roll-out of 102 electric buses from Daimler in The Hague

Carrier HTM, operating in Dutch The Hague area, has presented the first out of a 102-units e-bus order commissioned to Daimler Buses. The eCitaro for The Hague feature 490 kWh battery capacity in addition with equipment for pantograph charging. The buses were ordered in mid-2023 (a total of 102 eCit...

Keolis awarded 10-year contract in Utrecht (with 250 e-buses coming)

Dutch public transport authority Province of Utrecht has awarded Keolis a ten-year contract for the operation and maintenance of its Utrecht bus network. The contract, worth a total of 750 million euros, includes the deployment of more than 250 electric buses, the largest e-fleet operated by Keolis ...

Swedish public transport stakeholders urge approval of buses up to 25.5m to boost competition

Six major players in the Swedish bus transport sector are urging the government to quickly approve the use of buses up to 25.5 meters long, as reported on Swedish trade media Bussmagasinet.se. Currently, the legal limit for bus length in Sweden is 24 meters. In their letter to the government, these ...

Heavy-duty vehicles would not be affected by provisional EU duties on Chinese-made BEVs

Duties on Chinese EVs will affect battery-electric vehicles “designed for the transport of nine or less persons, including the driver“, says Olof Gill, Commission spokesperson for trade and agriculture, to Sustainable Bus. EU Commission provisional duties on EVs On 12th June, the Commiss...

VDL is to keep 1,600 Van Hool’s workers. New distribution agreement signed with ABC for the US

VDL Groep has stated in a press note out on 11th June that its purchase of Van Hool will save around “1,600 jobs in the high-quality European bus industry with immediate effect”. Goal of the takeover is “to further strengthen the activities of its Buses division“. However, it...

Scania founded Erinion, a company for charging systems

To help its customers and accompany them step by step in the transition to electric, Scania announced that it has established Erinion, a company specializing in private and semi-public charging systems. This strategic move will see the installation of 40,000 new charging points at customer sites and...

Farhym, when bus interior design speaks Turkish (and Polish)

Air ducts, hat and luggage racks, service seats, upholstery, lighting, handrails, passenger monitors, call buttons, and so on. This is the offering of Farhym, a supplier of systems and solutions for the interior design of commercial vehicles: school buses, coaches (double decker included, of course)...

11 new Irizar ie tram (in improved version) have been ordered in French Basque Country

The transport union of the Communauté d’agglomération du Pays Basque (France) has ordered eleven new Irizar e-mobility electric buses. The model chosen is still the Irizar ie tram, which is known as the Tram’bus in the Basque Country. They have ordered seven 18-metre-long vehicles and four 12 ...

Sustainable Bus Awards 2025: check out the (14) finalists!

To find out who the three winners of the Sustainable Bus Awards 2025 will be, we will have to wait for the awards ceremony during the opening day of the FIAA in Madrid, scheduled to take place in the Spanish capital Oct. 22-25. In the meantime, however, the 14 finalists who will compete for the [&he...

Ekoenergetyka opens new production line for 50 chargers in each 8-hour shift

Ekoenergetyka opened today, 4th June 2024, a new production line that is set to double the speed of production. The new line, inaugurated today, can produce up to 50 chargers in each eight-hour shift, a figure that will rise to 90 units by beginning 2025. The company plans to further automate the li...

Acquisition completed: Arriva (formerly under Deutsche Bahn) now belongs to infrastructure investor I Squared Capital

Arriva Group announced on 3rd June 2024 the completion of its acquisition by infrastructure investor I Squared Capital. The acquisition, first announced in October 2023, encompasses all of Arriva’s businesses across 11 countries. Deutsche Bahn had acquired Arriva in 2010. The transaction, according ...

Towards e-mobility in the coach segment, MAN will produce e-buses in Ankara starting 2025. Our interview with Barbaros Oktay

The launch of the BEV version of the Lion’s Coach in 2025, the readiness of the market for such innovations, the necessity of subsidies and infrastructure for the success of BEVs in the long-distance segment, the importance of political frameworks, and the impact on Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). Fa...

28-meter bi-articultated e-bus model based on Volvo BZR platform is ready for validation in Latin America

The first electric bi-articulated buses derived from the new Volvo BZR platform (launched in March 2024) will be validated through trials in Latin America. The buses will operate in Curitiba, Brazil; Bogotá, Colombia; and Mexico City, Volvo Buses states in a press note. The bi-articulated chassis is...

EPA grants awarded in USA for 3,400 clean school buses (92% electric) in 530 districts

3,400 clean school buses (92% of which will be electric) funded in USA. Biden-Harris Administration announced on 29th May the recipients of nearly $900 million for Clean School Buses within EPA’s Clean School Bus Rebate Program funded by President Biden’s Investing in America agenda. Fundings will b...

Bozankaya unveiled new e-bus series at Busworld Turkey. It’ll be available in 10, 12, 18, and 25m versions

Bozankaya has unveiled today at Busworld Turkey its new generation e-bus series, bearing the signature of Bozankaya engineering from design to production, as the company stresses. The bus will be available with lengths of 10, 12, 18, and 25 meters. Ahead of this, Bozankaya launched in 2017 the Sileo...

First new generation VDL Citea buses launched in operation in Eindhoven

Transdev-owned carrier Hermes presented its brand new generation of VDL Citea buses to the public on Monday, 27 May 2024, following an order that dates back to 2021. With the deployment of the first 32 of a total of 64 new generation Citea (the model was launched in September 2022), Hermes is now in...

VHH Hamburg has received 48 BEV buses from MAN (bringing e-bus fleet to 183 units)

Hamburger carrier VHH has just took delivery of 48 battery-electric buses by MAN, out of an order for 100 MAN e-buses (and 250 Daimler Buses-branded eCitaro) signed in March 2023. MAN Lion’s City E had already been purchased before that commission. 183 of around 750 buses are now emission-free...

Market conditions, company’s strategies, EV bus demand and competition. Our interview with Isuzu’s MD Tugrul Arikan

Market conditions in 2023, expectations for 2024, rising demand for electric buses, challenges in zero-emission bus deployment, competition with Chinese industry players: these were just a few key topics discussed by Tugrul Arikan, Managing Director of Anadolu Isuzu, in this interview. It follows a ...

BYD BD11 launched: a new double decker EV bus for UK market

BYD has raised the curtain on a new EV double decker bus model customized for the UK market. The model, named BYD BD11, features Blade Battery modules integrated in the chassis (as the B12 presented at Busworld 2023). The bus, specially tailored for London, is set to enter service later this year. A...

Everfuel opens a hydrogen bus depot in Frankfurt, Germany, for 23 fuel cell buses

Everfuel A/S has opened its hydrogen refuelling station at the Frankfurt municipal bus company In-der-City-Bus’ (ICB) bus depot in Germany. The depot station is owned by the bus operator ICB and will service 23 zero emission fuel cell buses used for daily city and municipal public transportation. Bu...

250 Yutong e-buses for Greece, first 46 vehicles have been delivered in Athens and Thessaloniki

250 Yutong e-buses are coming to Greece and will be operational in Athens and Thessaloniki. A first batch of 46 vehicles has just been delivered. All the 250 units are expected to be on the road by end of June, according to local media Greek city times. The order was placed in June 2023. Yutong [&he...

Castrosua’s strategies in the evolving landscape of bus e-mobility: our interview with CEO Beatriz Castro

Deals with giants such as Volvo Buses, Scania and BYD have led to a lot of talk about the Spanish bodybuilder Castrosua lately. As a matter of fact, they fit into a trend that sees the European industrial bus landscape changing in the direction of a new golden age for bodybuilders. In this interview...

First Bus in Leeds: Bramley depot’s to house 79 e-buses thanks to a £11.2m investment

First Bus and West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) have announced a further £11.2m investment in the operator’s Bramley depot which will make half the fleet zero emission before the end of 2024. WYCA with support from First Bus have been successful in securing £3.4m in a ‘variation request’ from...

The first time of Accelera latest NMC battery system in Europe, on BMC e-buses

Accelera by Cummins, the zero-emissions business segment of Cummins, is collaborating with Turkish bus builder BMC to provide battery solutions for their transit bus operations. The companies have signed a letter of intent (LOI) for Accelera to power BMC’s city buses. This marks the first time the B...

The announced Bus Theme park at IAA Transportation 2024 has been cancelled

The newly planned bus theme park at IAA Transportation in Hannover has now been cancelled. Apparently, “bus manufacturers had not made sufficient bookings”, according to the organizing association VDA (quoted by German trade media omnibus.news), although a IAA spokeperson stated that &#8...

On our visit in Zhengzhou, China, home of Yutong Bus & Coach

SUSTAINABLE BUS editorial staff has flown to the other side of the world, literally making themselves into two, or rather three: if one slice of the team has remained to man the office in Milan, another has packed its bags for Jakarta, for Busworld South East Asia, and yet another – the one th...

How energy transition is affecting the structure of operators and industry players? The Sustainable Bus Tour went live at NME

The first session of the Sustainable Bus Tour 2024 went live last week at Next Mobility Exhibition in Milan, culminating in a conversation between representatives from UITP, ATM Milano, RATP Dev, ZF and Iveco Bus on the evolving landscape of public transport and how energy transition and digitalizat...

End of the negotiations: EU new CO2 emission standards for heavy-duty vehicles definitely approved

Following approval from the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union today (13th May 2024) formally adopted the regulation on CO2 emission standards for heavy-duty vehicles, amending and strengthening the existing EU rules. The updated rules will further reduce CO2 emiss...

What we have seen at NME 2024 in Milan. The first time for Otokar’s improved e-Kent C and Iveco Crossway Hybrid Normal Floor

Last week’s Next Mobility Exhibition in Milan showcased an array of cutting-edge vehicles from leading manufacturers. Highlights included Otokar exhibiting the intercity e-bus e-Territo and the updated version of e-Kent C, Altas’ Novus City V7, a collaboration with Zhongtong, BYD’s...

GTT and Indcar have signed deal for the supply of 22 Bluebus e-buses in Turin

Turin public transport municipal operator GTT and Indcar officially signed the contract for the purchase of 22 electric minibuses realized by the French company Bluebus (Indcar acts as dealer for Italy and Spain since mid-2023). The signing took place on 9 May during NME – Next Mobility Exhibi...

Tecnobus – Next: an all-Italian industrial partnership for the production of the zero-emission pod

Tecnobus will produce the futuristic ‘pod’ designed by the Paduan start-up Next in its plant close to Rome and in the newly acquired Ferentino plant (formerly Valeo). Production of the first prototypes is scheduled for the last quarter of 2024. The announcement was made at the Next Mobility Exhibiti...

Sustainable Bus magazine May 2024: visiting Forsee Power, VDL, Volvo Buses, exploring eCitaro fuel cell and Solaris Urbino 12 updated

It’s out today, it smells of freshly-printed paper and is ready for traveling around the globe in order to be massively-distributed at Next Mobility Exhibition in Milan, IT-TRANS in Karlsruhe, Busworld South East Asia in Jakarta (Indonesia), Busworld Turkey in Istanbul. We are talking about th...

Up to 100 Irizar BRT buses awarded by De Lijn for HOV connections

De Lijn has awarded a framework agreement for up to 100 BRT e-buses to Spanish Irizar e-mobility. The manufacturer has won the tender issued by the Belgian transport company, as its bid was selected as the best out of three submitted offers (out of eight selected candidates, De Lijns states).

Up to 460 New Flyer e-buses headed to Boston (starting with 80 units)

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) has awardedNew Flyer a contract for up to 460 next-generation Xcelsior CHARGE NG 40-foot battery-electric transit buses (BEBs). The contract includes a firm order for 80 vehicles, including 48 buses with New Flyer’s standard two-door configuration an...

E-bus registrations grew 10% in Q1 2024 in European Union (while diesel bus’ share increased 8%)

Bus registrations in European Union grew 10% in the first quarter of 2024, compared to the first three months of last year, as recorded by ACEA, the association of European manufacturers. However, their share slightly decreased to 12.3% of the total bus market (from 13.7% in Q1 2023). The first quar...

Balance shifts in public transport: UITP, ATM, RATP, Iveco, ZF to feature Sustainable Bus Tour 2024’s at NME (Milan)

Next Mobility Exhibition in Milan will host the kick-off of Sustainable Bus Tour 2024, that after 3 years of being conducted digitally, will be built this year around two in-person conferences. “Balance Shifts in Public Transport: Operators and Industry in the Energy Transition Era,” is ...

Next Mobility Exhibition 2024 in Milan: what to expect?

Next Mobility Exhibition 2024 is ready to go live on 8-10 May in Milan: on the rich menu of the expo, the manufacturers’ proposals – obviously in the name of energy transition, with electric and hydrogen as the main technological players – represent the main courses. Here, then, is...

UITP’s survey estimates 52% clean energy bus fleet in Europe in 2027 (and total bus fleet to grow 6%)

"Cleaner buses, bigger fleets. That’s what the bus sector itself sees as the future of the bus in Europe", UITP says presenting its newly-released "Bus Fleet Survey 2023", initiative of the UITP Vehicles and Equipment Industry Committee, based on a survey conducted on 54 organisations (40 PTOs and 1...

Daimler Buses wins 19 e-buses in Osnabrück (Germany), where e-bus share will reach 94%

SWO Mobil in Osnabrück has ordered 19 Mercedes-Benz eCitaro buses, following Europe-wide tender. They are set to be delivered from 2025. The total capacity of the five 98.3 kWh battery packs installed on each of the buses amounts to 491.5 kWh and “enables them to cover an operating range of a...

What we have seen at Bus2Bus 2024. MAN, Iveco, MCV, Omnicar, JBM, Otokar, Isuzu, Daimler, and more…

2,400 participants (20 percent more than in 2022) attended Bus2Bus 2024, ‘populated’ by 140 exhibitors from 20 countries. The expo was live on 24-25th Aprile and dates are already scheduled for the next edition: April 15 and 16, 2026. Well, what have we seen at the expo? At the forefront...

New German order for Wrightbus fuel cell buses: 46 Kite Hydroliner headed to Cottbus

Wrightbus has signed another deal for hydrogen bus supply in Germany: 46 vehicles have been indeed ordered by Cottbusverkehr GmbH and will serve the city of Cottbus, the second largest city in the state of Brandenburg, and and in the western part of the district of Spree-Neiße. The first buses are d...

In 2026 Gillig will start production of a hydrogen bus with BAE powertrain and Ballard fuel cell module

US bus manufacturer Gillig is set to expand its zero-emission product lineup with the addition of a hydrogen fuel cell powered bus, to be developed in collaboration with BAE Systems and Ballard Power Systems. Earlier this year Gillig has received a major order in Seattle for its battery-electric bus...

German bodybuilder Omnicar launches e-minibus models at Bus2Bus in Berlin

Omnicar, a 25-years old German company active so far in the bodyworks on Sprinter and Daily minibuses, has launched its first vehicles with own logo unveiling the W-Smile S6 and W-Smile S7 at Bus2Bus in Berlin. The vehicles are battery-electric minibuses, 6 and 7-meter respectively (the latter avail...

Next generation battery for the eCitaro will be provided by BMZ: new partnership announced

Daimler Buses and Polish battery systems expert BMZ Poland have entered into a strategic partnership for the development and supply of the next generation of e-bus batteries. The new battery generation NMC4 – succeeding the current NMC3 technology by BorgWarner launched in early 2023 – "will combin...

Bus2Bus 2024 begins tomorrow: exhibitors increased 40%, 30 buses will be on display

Bus2Bus 2024 begins tomorrow with a spotlight on the latest trends in the bus and supply industry. Over 140 companies (a 40 percent increase) from 20 countries are displaying innovative and sustainable mobility solutions. International companies cover 38 percent of the exhibitors. Trade visitors can...

Olof Persson to replace Gerrit Marx as CEO of Iveco Group

Olof Persson will replace Gerrit Marx as Iveco Group CEO. The latter will leave the Group to take up his appointment as the CEO of CNH Industrial. Persson, who is currently an Iveco Group Board Independent Director, will step in to the role of CEO, having been closely involved in the development of ...

Iveco Bus launches the Crossway Hybrid, a normal floor intercity bus featuring Voith technology

After unveiling the Crossway Low Entry Hybrid in late 2022 (also available in battery-electric version), Iveco Bus is now updating the range with the mild hybrid version of the Crossway normal floor intercity bus. It’s available in 3 lengths: 10.7, 12, 13 meters, POP and LINE ve...

Solaris has delivered 15 e-buses in Tallin (they’re the first BEV buses in Estonia)

Solaris Bus & Coach has just delivered 15 Solaris Urbino electric buses to the largest Estonian public transport operator, Aktsiaselts Tallinna Linnatransport (TLT), which provides transport services in the capital of Estonia. The contract value, including the delivery of buses and charging infr...

Iveco Bus Crossway LE vs Setra MultiClass S 500 LE: the Low Entry challenge is here!

A comparison between what are arguably the two most representative Low Entry bus models, both of which have recently undergone a range update: the Setra MultiClass, which contributed to the boom in this segment with its previous 400 series and now offers the revamped 500 series; and the Iveco Crossw...

Belgium, Wallonian operator TEC to deploy 32 e-buses in a converted depot in Liège

The Walloon government has approved the Mobi’Park project to build a new bus depot at Tilleur (Saint-Nicolas), in the province of Liège. It will be the first electrified depot in Wallonia (one of the three regions of Belgium), said Philippe Henry, Walloon Minister for Mobility, according to lo...

Van Hool’s trustee have accepted the takeover bid by VDL – Schmitz

VDL – Schmitz Cargobull’s bid has been chosen by trustees in Van Hool’s case as the best fit to ensure continuity in the company. Administrators taking care of the post-bankruptcy takeover of the OEM “believe a much faster start-up can be achieved. They feared that with other...

Ebusco, MAN, Mercedes and Solaris are taking part to the E-Bus Test 2024 in Bonn (featuring also MCV, Mellor and Rampini)

Mercedes eCitaro G, Solaris Urbino 18 Electric, MAN Lion’s City E 18, and Ebusco 3.0 18-meter. These manufacturers have converged in Bonn (Germany) to subject their 18-meter electric buses to scrutiny and driving performance evaluations during the yearly initiative E-Bus test, promoted since 2017 by...

Plot twist in Van Hool’s post-bankruptcy developments: Dumarey Group made a new bid (together with ABC Companies). And another buyer also pops up….

Bus manufacturer Van Hool has been declared bankrupt. The information has been stated by the manufacturer itself this morning, 8th April, and the topic got high attention on local media, in particular from De Standaard. The company is set to be taken over by Dutch VDL and German Schmitz Cargobull, b...

VDL Group, a 2023 in lights and shadows: bus&coach -33%

For the VDL Group, 2023 was a two-sided year. In hot days that saw the Dutch giant get its hands – along with Schmitz Cargobull – on Van Hool, the press note containing the financial results achieved during the past year was released. VDL Groep president and CEO Willem van der Leegte sai...

VDL-Schmitz alliance remains the sole potential buyer of Van Hool assets, Flemish media says

“Only VDL-Schmitz still in the running for Van Hool, Dumarey no longer involved“. It’s the headline of the article published today, 5th April, by Flemish newspaper De Tijd, with significants updates about the future of Van Hool. The other takeover candidate, Dumarey, has thrown in ...

118 inverted pantograph chargers added at EMT Madrid Carabanchel depot. 320 charges expected by early 2025

A new inverted pantograph electric charging station has been inaugurated at the Carabanchel operations centre of EMT Madrid. Now the depot has been enhanced with further 118 electric bus’ chargers, enabling a total of 260 vehicles to be charged simultaneously. With the fourth phase of charging...

Solaris will order 1,000 fuel cell modules from Ballard until 2027

Ballard Power Systems announced the signing of a Long Term Supply Agreement with bus manufacturer Solaris Bus & Coach, for the supply of 1,000 hydrogen fuel cell engines through 2027 for the European transit bus market. Over 1,700 fuel cell buses powered by Ballard are in operation worldwide as ...

Skoda begins type test and homologation process for trolleybuses headed to Vilnius (91 in total)

The first trolleybus model Škoda 32 Tr for Vilniaus viešasis transportas has entered the type tests and homologation process in Pilsen, the manufacturer announces. This milestone signifies big progress in producing 91 trolleybuses bound for Vilnius, Lithuania. The contract with the transport operato...

Will recovery follow bankruptcy? A few days left to know Van Hool’s future (and two potential buyers)

«Van Hool remains determined to pursue a sustainable future for the company. In the context of the ongoing procedures at the Mechelen Business Court, Van Hool will take an extra week to safeguard the possibility of a quick restart», the company itself makes known in a press release issued on 2nd Apr...

Hess wins tender in Lugano: 8 articulated e-buses on delivery by end 2025

Hess has won a tender for 8 articulated e-buses in Lugano (Switzerland). By the end of 2025, eight electric lighTram 19 OPP buses will be operating on route 5 (Viganello–Lugano Centre–Manno), each of which are rapidly recharged at their final stops.  Following two tenders awarded in Italy (in V...

KVB inaugurated its new Porz electric bus depot in Cologne, with room for over 100 e-buses

Kölner Verkehrs-Betriebe (KVB) has achieved a significant milestone in its Smart City KVB program with the inauguration of its new Porz electric bus depot on March 17, 2024. This depot, housing over 100 electric buses, represents a pivotal step towards the company's goal of transitioning its entire ...

VDL and Dumarey would be interested to Van Hool, crisis manager told De Standaard (trambuses for Paris are at risk)

Van Hool's bankruptcy is now unavoidable, crisis manager Marc Zwaaneveld (appointed in early 2024) told in an interview with De Standaard. Where he releases significants recriminations towards Van Hool's family. Also, production of trambuses for Paris is a high risk, as he specifically stated that t...

A “disappointing” 2023 for Ebusco. Now focus on assembly strategy (with 3.0 built in China) and positive EBITDA expected in 2024

Ebusco achieved €102.4 million revenue in 2023, recording EBITDA loss of €95.7 million, compared to €34.8 million negative a year earlier, and net loss for the year of €120.1 million (vs €32.2 million in 2022). Ebusco’s net cash position was €27.9 million as per 31 December 2023 down from €95.2 mill...

955 zero emission buses funded in England through ZEBRA 2nd round

Further £143 million (166 million euros) will be invested in England to roll out almost a thousand new zero emission buses. Transport Secretary Mark Harper has confirmed that 955 zero emission buses will hit the road as 25 councils receive funding to decarbonise their bus fleets, with rural areas pr...

Hochbahn e-bus fleets has covered 20 million km. +70 further e-buses will be introduced in 2024

Hochbahn electric bus fleet in Hamburg has covered 20 million kilometres so far. By mid-2024, the number of e-buses will grow to 260 vehicles (199 solo buses and 61 articulated buses), accounting for more than a quarter of the total fleet of almost 1,100 buses. As of today, there are currently 242 b...

Intercity e-bus Volvo 8900 Electric launched based on new BZR chassis. It’ll be ready in 2025

The new Volvo 8900 Electric is an electric low-entry bus for city, intercity, and commuter operations. It is offered in both two- and three-axle configurations, with a capacity of up to 110 passengers. The driveline can be specified with one or two motors, giving a traction power of up to 400kW, or ...

Volvo Buses enters intercity e-bus segment with the BZR platform for Low Entry and High Floor applications

The brand new Volvo BZR electric bus platform was unveiled. It's set to join the already available BZL platform in the Swedish company's offering. The Volvo BZR platform, according to statements from the company (further technical information will follow), is designed to meet a diverse range of tran...

Daimler Buses wants to double its profit margin by 2030 (and announces e-mobility roadmap)

In 2023, the company generated an adjusted return on sales of 4.7, which constitutes a significant rise on the prior year (PY 0.4 percent). A positive market development and consistent implementation of efficiency measures made these results possible. Now Daimler Buses states it aims to "achieve an ...

Blackbuck EV begins trials of the ELON 3X electric bus. It will be on market in 2025

Blackbuck EV has kicked off road trials for its ELON 3X electric bus. These trials signify a pivotal phase as the vehicles undergo rigorous validation and testing in preparation for certification. First pictures of the new product were shared in late 2023.

Iveco Group presents new Strategic Plan and announces €600M investment in bus business (including a new e-born architecture)

According to the information shared by Domenico Nucera, President of Bus business in Iveco Group, during his speech at Iveco Group Capital Markets Day, "The next move is to invest 300 million euros for a modular, electric-born architecture that will integrate the batteries in the vehicle structure t...

RVK turns again to Solaris and orders 20 H2-powered buses (total fleet to reach 83 units)

The order includes eleven articulated buses and nine 12-meter buses with hydrogen drive. It's the fourth hydrogen buses ordered awarded by RVK to Solaris: first one in March 2020 for 15 units, then 31 in early 2023, last (but not least!) further 18 vehicles commissioned in September 2023.

“Road km travelled using non-fossil fuels doubled between 2019 and 2023”, Keolis shares within last year results

Keolis achieved revenue of €7.0 bn in 2023, up by 6.6% on an organic basis compared to 2022. The group’s recurring operating profit (EBIT) amounts to €164 million, representing a margin of 2.3% of revenue, according to the data concerning 2023 financial results just released by the company. ...

28 Irizar ie tram are set to operate on Kent’s Fastrack service in UK (operated by Go-Ahead)

Irizar e-mobility announced on Linkedin that it going to supply 28 e-buses within a second BRT project in UK. In collaboration with Go Ahead London, the Spanish OEM is set to roll out a fleet of 28 Irizar ie tram (12-meter version). This initiative is part of the innovative Fastrack service provided...

Solaris shows sneak peek of the new intercity ZE bus platform at 2024 press conference

Solaris showed during its 2024 press conference, held online this morning, the first renderings of the future intercity bus platform, set to be "ready for commercial activities in 2026", as said Solaris CEO Javier Iriarte.

Van Hool is set to halt production of city buses and focus only on coaches (in Macedonia)

Van Hool is reportedly willing to concentrate entirely on coaches and trailers, but the production of those coaches would largely move from Belgium to northern Macedonia. That means potentially hundreds of jobs will be lost in Koningshooikt. What is odd, Van Hool has recently launched a new platform...

Hungarian Credobus has produced the first Electronell electric bus (with part of batteries in the floor)

The first Credobus Electronell has left the factory. It's the first full electric bus by Hungarian manufacturer Credobus, that claims the bus empty weight "does not reach 11.5 tons, which is unique among e-buses with a metal frame structure". The concept of Credobus is based on a metal frame struc...

Alexander Dennis raises warrantable energy throughput up to 1.6GWh on its in-house built e-bus range

Alexander Dennis announces increase of warrantable energy throughput of its next-generation electric buses (launched in late 2023) to 1.6GWh maximum. “The Enviro100EV “big small bus” and Enviro400EV “crowd-shifter” have a future-proof battery system designed to maximise use before battery repl...

“Next-level battery technology is just around the corner”: BorgWarner’s strategies for commercial vehicles, explained by R&D lead Martin Busche

At Mobility Move live in Berlin on 5-7 March 2024, BorgWarner showcases its battery portfolio tailored for electric buses. The company’s three-pillar approach emphasizes innovation, sustainability, and strategic partnerships. BorgWarner has recently announced that it entered a deal with BYD’s ...

Halting federal subsidies “put conversion of 10,000 buses to zero emission at risk”, states VDV president Ingo Wortmann

"The recent Bundestag decision to cut funding for the purchase of buses with alternative drives in the Climate and Transformation Fund is causing significant uncertainty among all market participants. Just now, when the market ramp-up of e-buses is not yet complete and 88 percent of city buses are b...

Mobility Move 2024: what we have seen in Berlin

Mobility Move is live until 7th March at the Hotel Estrel in Berlin. The one underway is the most successful edition of the event promoted by the VDV and until 2022 named ElekBu. 1,400 attendees are expected by 90 exhibitors. Mobility Move 2024 in Berlin: MAN and BYD MAN showed the autonomous b...

Solaris showcases Urbino 12 electric with new batteries up to 600 kWh (and modular drivetrain) at Mobility Move

Solaris is using the opportunity of Mobility Move 2024 in Berlin to present a new version of its best-seller, i.e. the Solaris Urbino 12 electric bus featuring an innovative propulsion design and new batteries providing “an impressive range”, ...

The first exhibitors at IAA Transportation 2024 have been announced

From September 17-22, 2024, IAA Transportation returns to Hannover. In recent weeks we have written about how the incoming edition includes an interesting novelty on the bus&coach side, as there will be an outdoor theme park dedicated to bus&coach. In recent years, the vocation of the Hannov...

US saw 12% surge in zero emission bus adoption in 2023 (with H2 buses growing 76%), CALSTART reports

Zero emission buses adopted in the US have been growing 12 percent in 2023 according to CALSTART survey Zeroing on Zero-emission buses (that takes into account electric buses both ordered and deployed). A total of 6,147 vehicles are counted for the US (dated as of September 2023). In 2023, still acc...

53 million awarded by German government to 13 bus companies and districts to buy 186 e-buses

The German Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport Affairs (BMDV) announced it is investing a further 53.4 million euros in the procurement of buses with climate-friendly drive systems and the associated infrastructure. Parliamentary State Secretary Daniela Kluckert today presented funding certif...

13 Hess double-articulated trolleybuses will be deployed in Bern

Hess announced the awarding of a contract for 13 double-articulated trolleybuses from Bernmobil. The vehicles are to be deployed on the Bern - Köniz/Schliern line 10 from summer 2026 and offer around 30 percent more capacity than conventional articulated trolleybuses. The Swiss operator has also or...

CaetanoBus wins tender to provide 10 hydrogen buses in Vienna

Wiener Linien is set to introduce ten hydrogen-powered buses on Line 39A by the end of 2025. Following a European tender process, CaetanoBus, in collaboration with Toyota, emerged as the successful bidder to supply the H2.City Gold buses.

Scania – Castrosua intercity e-bus presented to Spanish customers

Scania BEV Low Entry Class II bus made in cooperation with Castrosua (on 75CS body) is ready for the Spanish market. Following the presentation held at Busworld 2023, the vehicles was showcased in Spain during an event with customers and media at the Swedish brand's facilities in Torrejón de Ardoz (...

We visited Forsee Power’s plant in Poitiers (France): production capacity set to grow 100% by 2028 (up to 4 GWh/year)

On 27th February 2024 our editorial staff had the opportunity to visit Forsee Power‘s industrial plant in Poitiers, France. Situated on a brownfield investment dated 2018, the facility was previously used as a diesel engine piston plant. Our visit offered a glimpse into a facility transformed ...

A world premiere: Iveco Bus Crossway has been retrofitted to hydrogen (and approved) by GCK Mobility

An Iveco Bus Crossway – the best-selling Class II in Europe – has been retrofitted with a hydrogen fuel cell by a GCK Mobility workshop at the Cournon (Puy-de-Dôme) site in France. The vehicle has been approved for road production, which will enable its mass production. Iveco’s in-...

ADL, average energy consumption of just 0.67 kW/km for the Enviro400EV

Record fuel consumption for the new generation of the Alexander Dennis Enviro400EV, which completed the Zemo Partnership’s zero-emission bus testing and certification program with an energy consumption of only 0.67 kWh/km. A figure that actually makes it the most efficient electric double-deck...

First order achieved by MCV in Germany for the C127 EV: 10 units for North Rhine-Westphalia

Egyptian manufacturer Manufacturing Commercial Vehicles (MCV) has developed the C127 EV as new electric bus for the German market.

Wrightbus to launch a H2 coach in 2026

Jean-Marc Gales, Wrightbus CEO, is quoted by Bus & Coach Buyer as saying that "The concept is ready, the predevelopment work has been done, so we are confident we can launch it in 2026". It's not yet clear if the vehicles will be in-house built or realized in cooperation with bodybuilder partners.

MAN is establishing a network of battery repair centres in Europe

MAN rolls out battery repair centres in Europe: two first hubs are already in operation, in Germany and Spain - more are to follow in Europe in 2024 and 2025. Plans provide for battery centers to be established in 2024 and 2025 in Italy, Denmark/Norway, Austria, Belgium, Netherlands, France, Poland ...

Busworld Turkey: the 10th edition is sold out

Sold out. Busworld Turkey, scheduled to take place at the Istanbul Expo Center May 29-31, is sold out. The tenth edition of the event-an important milestone-will welcome as many as 157 exhibitors and aims to surpass the already excellent numbers of the 2022 edition: 11,000 visitors from 84 countries...

Italy: after Genoa, Hess selected to provide flash-charged e-buses also in Vicenza (with Hitachi)

Second flash-charging contract in a short period of time for the ‘couple’ Hess – Hitachi Energy in Italy. After Genoa, the city of Vicenza has awarded a contract for 16 Hess lighTram TOSA (thanks to 19 million euros of State financing). City public transport carrier SVT will deploy...

New issue of Sustainable Bus magazine is out! It’s the first of the four planned for 2024

First 2024 issue of Sustainable Bus magazine is out today. The expansion to four issues per year, vs three yearly issues published so far, is a significant milestone for Sustainable Bus magazine, made possible by the support and interest demonstrated by our readership. For those seeking access to ph...

In Wiesbaden plans for transition to e-buses face cuts in budget (and H2 buses were decommissioned)

Fuel cell bus project dismissed, a fleet of 120 12-meter e-buses that won’t be expanded (and rumors of intention to sell them have quite strong). This is, according to German media, the situation facing ESWE Verkehr, public transport operator of the city of Wiesbaden. The Wiesbaden-based trans...

UK, Germany and Norway lead the 2023 e-bus market in Europe (high growth in Italy and Spain)

The European electric bus market experienced a remarkable surge in registrations in 2023, with a 53% growth in 2023. A total of 6,354 electric buses were registered across EU27, Norway, Iceland, and Switzerland. Notably, over 42% of city buses now operate as zero-emission vehicles. But let’s s...

Yutong U12 e-bus underwent testing in Norway and Kazakhstan, with dedicated technologies for cold climate

Yutong U12 battery-electric bus has been undergoing extreme cold challenge in Kirkenes, Norway, during testing activities conducted by the manufacturer. “In a live test of 105 km, Yutong U12 showed a power consumption of 1.56 kWh/km in an ice and snow environment in Kirkenes where the temperat...

42% of the city buses registered in Europe in 2023 are zero emission

The European e-bus market saw a 53% growth in registrations last year: in 2023 as many as 6,354 were registered in EU27 + Norway, Iceland and Switzerland. Over 42% of city buses were zero-emission (BEV and Hydrogen), quickly growing from 15% in 2020 (tripling in three years). Overall, 13,466 buses w...

A guide to public transport exhibitions 2024 in Europe

The year 2024 promises a plethora of trade shows and exhibitions focusing on the latest advancements in public transport and bus technology. These events, spread across various locations, offer valuable opportunities for industry professionals and enthusiasts to gather, share knowledge, and witness ...

Sustainable Bus Tour 2024 will consist of two conferences at NME Milan and Euro Mobility Expo in Strasbourg

After 3 years of being conducted digitally, the Sustainable Bus Tour 2024 will be built around two in-person conference that are set to be held within Next Mobility Exhibition (May) in Milan and the Euro Mobility Expo in Strasbourg (October), two of the main public transport exhibitions in Europe pl...

33 Alexander Dennis Enviro500EV are set to operate on a wireless-charged BRT in Seattle

Alexander Dennis is ready to introduce its next-generation electric bus technology to North America following its launch in the UK and the Asia-Pacific region in late 2023. Sound Transit, which provides regional transit in the Seattle metropolitan area, has placed a firm order for 33 zero-emission E...

BorgWarner enters deal with BYD’s FinDreams to manufacture blade battery in Europe and Americas

BorgWarner has signed a strategic relationship agreement with BYD subsidiary FinDreams Battery. BorgWarner will be in charge of manufacturing LFP battery packs for commercial vehicles utilizing FinDreams Battery blade cells (presented in 2020) in Europe, the Americas, and select regions of Asia Paci...

Tallinn revives trolleybus technology with an upcoming procurement for 40 new vehicles

The Tallinn municipal government has decided to invest in 40 battery-powered trolleybuses and upgrade the contact network, is reported on local media ERR.ee, mentioned also by trade agency electrive. This decision comes after 24 years of transitioning from trolleybuses to buses (with heavy commitmen...

Iveco, ABB and Dalkia have been awarded the realization of 3 BRT lines in Saint-Nazaire (France)

As part of its “zero-emission” mobility project, Saint-Nazaire agglomération, in French Loire region, has selected the technical offer from partners Iveco France, ABB E-mobility, and Dalkia Electrotechnics for its three future electric bus lines. This includes the complete supply of the ...

Île-de-France Mobilités invests €1.8bn for 3,500 clean buses for city and intercity services

Paris region public transport authority Île-de-France Mobilités plans to order 3,500 clean buses for city and intercity services via the centralized body Centrale d’achat du transport public (CATP). According to plans, around 1,000 of these new vehicles (set to be electric, biogas-powered or h...

Altas Novus City V7: the 7.5-meter e-bus developed with Zhongtong begins European roadshow

The Altas Novus City V7, electric novelty in the Lithuanian manufacturer’s portfolio, is currently travelling through Trentino Alto-Adige region (Italy) for the first stages of a European roadshow which, after Trento and Bolzano, will take it to Germany, Switzerland and Denmark. The news is re...

Daimler Buses Solutions is converting HTM bus depot to electric drives

Daimler Buses Solutions, the latest subsidiary of Daimler Buses launched in June 2023, is electrifying the bus depot of HTM Personenvervoer NV in The Hague. The project covers the entire “e-system” and thus the installation of all 41 charging stations with a total of 122 charging points, providing t...

Geely led Chinese new energy bus market in 2023 (thanks to small-sized vehicles), according to Interact Analysis

China remains the global powerhouse in the electric vehicle (EV) market, with recent data from consulting Interact Analysis shedding light on the country’s electrified commercial vehicle landscape for 2023. Geely emerges as a dominant force in the new energy sector, leading both the truck and ...

The e-bus depot has more charging capacity than needed: Transdev gives back excess capacity to the energy company

It happens in the Netherlands. Connexxion (Transdev) in 2018 installed in its e-bus depot in Amstelveen a higher charging capacity than the one actually needed. Now the carrier has decided in consultation with energy company Liander to have the connection adapted to a smaller one. This will allow be...

Arriva wins tender and keep managing West Brabant concession (NL). 200 e-buses coming

Arriva has won a new contract to continue serving the West Brabant region in the Netherlands, following a competitive tender process. “A key part of Arriva’s successful bid was the presentation of a robust and future-proof network with faster and smarter transport options and investment in a c...

780 MAN Lion’s City E registered in 2023, tripling 2022 figures and taking the lead in the EU market

780 MAN electric buses were registered in Europe (EU27+3) last year alone. According to the latest registration statistics mentioned by the group, MAN Truck & Bus has thus taken the top position in the electric bus market in continental Europe, with a market share of around 13.3 percent. MAN alm...

Wrightbus nears completion of first hydrogen buses for continental Europe

UK bus manufacturer Wrightbus announced through a Linkedin post it is in the final stages of completing its first batch of left-hand-drive single-deck hydrogen buses, known as the Kite Hydroliner, destined for Germany and adhering to full VDV compliance. In May 2022 Wrightbus secured an order from R...

ACEA reports over 7,000 electric buses have been registered in Europe in 2023

According to ACEA, in 2023 electric bus registrations in the European Union “increased by 39.1% to 5,166 units, claiming a 15.9% market share”. Diesel bus share decreased from 67% in 2022 to 62% last year. In 2022 e-bus registrations accounted for 12.7% of the total EU bus market. Lookin...

Further Solaris H2 buses ordered in Germay: 23 Urbino hydrogen headed to Frankfurt’s region

Solaris and German public transport operator Lokale Nahverkehrsgesellschaft mbH Kreis Groß-Gerau (for brevity’s sake: LNVG) have begun collaborating by signing a contract for the delivery of 23 Urbino hydrogen buses that will be in operation in Frankfurt’s region. The project is funded b...

German e-bus market grew 20% in 2023: MAN, Mercedes and Ebusco on the podium. The total market increased 12.5%

The German bus and coach market grew 12.5% in 2023 according to figures by the Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) reported by German trade media omnibus.news. Last year 753 new electric buses over 8 ton were registered, growing 20% 632 on 2022. In 2021 the figure was 555. And big news are emerg...

Ebusco appoints Frank Meurs as co-CEO and shifts expected 2023’s revenue to 2024

Ebusco‘s 3.0 buses assembled by partners are in transit towards Europe. In the meanwhile, following the shift in assembly strategy, Ebusco states in a press note that “founder and CEO Peter Bijvelds has requested the Supervisory Board to consider creating the role of co-CEO with the aim ...

Bluebus e-buses will be back on Paris’ roads this summer after fires in 2022. Manufacturer will pay a compensation

RATP has just announced that electric Bluebus buses would be back on the roads next summer, following the withdrawal of 148 units from service in spring 2022 after two fires accident happened in a short time window. Also the vehicles delivered after April 2022 have been taken out of service until no...

France, La Rochelle presents a fleet of 11 Heuliez Bus electric buses

La Rochelle Conurbation is set to integrate 11 electric buses into its Yélo network as part of the “La Rochelle Territoire Zéro Carbone” (La Rochelle Zero Carbon Territory) initiative. These electric vehicles are supplied by the Iveco-Heuliez group and manufactured at the Heuliez plant i...

Hydrogen for Barcelona: TMB formalizes supply of 36 urban Solaris Urbino 12 H2

We had already written about it in September 2023. Hydrogen is one of the paths firmly taken by Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB) to make its bus fleet zero-emission. And so TMB has made official the purchase of 36 Solaris-signed 12-meter buses for a total of 23,396,400 euros (Urbino 12 H2...

24 electric Yutong for the city of Nottingham

Nottingham City Transport (NCT), the English city’s public transport operator, is set to welcome twenty-four new Yutong signature electric buses to its fleet, costing £400,000 each per unit. Source of pictures: Nottingham City Transport Yutong electric buses for Nottingham City Transport Yuton...

Santiago de Chile’s new tender for public transport services include 1,200 e-buses

A new tender in Santiago de Chile has been issued in mid-December 2023 to renew 30 percent of the public transport system Red Movilidad. The tender provides for the introduction in the network of 1,200 zero emission buses (out of 2,100 new buses) and ’embraces’ 121 routes (15 of those ar...

Council and Parliament reach “a provisional agreement” on CO2 emission standards. City buses to be ZE in 2035

The Council and the European Parliament’s negotiators announce that today they reached “a provisional political agreement on CO2 emission standards for heavy-duty vehicles (HDVs). The proposed amendment introduces a 100% zero-emission target for urban buses by 2035, while s...

Iveco Bus to provide +400 e-buses in Rome

Iveco Bus has won its largest electric bus contract in Italy to date for the supply of 411 battery electric vehicles to the capital’s public transport operator ATAC. The manufacturer has also won 153 e-buses in Milan and 225 in Turin. The contract, signed today 17th January 2024, is worth more...

One of UK’s largest e-bus fleet will see the light in Oxford (operated by Go-Ahead and Stagecoach)

The Go-Ahead Group has joined partners in Oxford to launch one of the UK’s biggest fleets of electric buses. A £82.5 million project will deliver 159 battery buses onto the streets of Oxford – the first of which have already gone into service, Go-Ahead states. Go-Ahead had just been celebrating...

Spanish bus market grew 54% in 2023. Mercedes increased market share to 25%, Iveco Bus and Scania complete the podium

With 3,749 buses registered in 2023, the Spanish bus market grew 54% compared to 2022 data. The data, provided by consulting MSI, were published on the Spanish trade media Carril Bus. Mercedes led the market with 946 buses, +88% on 2022 (and a market share of 25%, increasing the 20% covered in 2022)...

MAN bus business grew +19% in 2023 (with e-bus sales increasing 200%)

Bus business grew 19% in 2023 for MAN Truck & Bus. The group has just announced its yearly results, with 116,000 vehicles delivered globally during the year, with an increase of 37% compared to the previous year. In addition, 11,600 engines were sold. Truck sales developed particularly posi...

Van Hool secured a 112-units e-bus order from Qbuzz (NL)

Van Hool has secured a large order for 112 battery buses from Dutch public transport operator Qbuzz, (owned by Italian FS). This follows a previous order of 54 battery buses from Van Hool by Qbuzz landed in March 2023. The models involved in the order are Van Hool A13LE E (56 units; 45 + 3 […...

Siemens has acquired Heliox (and achieves charging portfolio ranging from 40 kW to megawatt charging)

Siemens has completed the acquisition of Heliox, a technology leader in DC fast charging solutions, serving eBus and eTruck fleets and passenger vehicles. Headquartered in the Netherlands, Heliox employs approximately 330 people. A first agreement between the two companies was signed in August 2023....

282 zero emission buses are operating in Belgium today, with plans for further 300 in 2024-25

282 zero emission buses today in operation in Belgium, 40% coming from MAN’s factories (but also Van Hool is in good position with 54 units running). And 292 are set to be introduced in 2024 and 2025 based on contract already signed: the main part of these will be covered by Iveco Bus (contrac...

Italian bus market grew +72% in 2023 (Iveco leads). 1/4 of the city bus market is electric

The Italian bus market experienced a boom in 2023. And so after the 2,351 number plates registered during 2022, according to data collected by ANFIA, registrations of buses over 8 ton hit the figure of 4,043 in 2023. To find such a volume, we have to go back to 2024. The growth on 2022 is […]

BYD has delivered 20 15-meter e-buses to Mexico City (out of a 55-units deal)

BYD Mexico delivered the first batch of 20 15-meter electric buses to Mexico City Metrobús. This supply involves a total of 55 pure electric buses, marking the largest electric bus fleet delivered in a single shipment in Mexico thus far, as the Chinese manufacturer states. LATAM is a fast moving mar...

De Lijn has ordered 92 BYD electric buses (part of a framework agreement for up to 500 units)

The board of De Lijn, the public transport authority and operator in Flanders, Belgium, has approved the putchase of 92 standard (12 m) electric buses from BYD Europe. Deliveries are set to begin in early 2025. The order represents an investment of more than 43 million euro. “This order confirms tha...

Solaris and Hess won a total of 130 vehicles (trolleybuses and e-buses) in Genoa, Italy

130 vehicles (trolleybuses and e-buses) have just been awarded in Genoa, Italy. Solaris (in partnership with Skoda) will supply 112 IMC trolleybuses for a value of more than EUR 100 million. The second part of the contract, dedicated to electric flash charging buses for the Valbisagno route, has see...

VDV urges more reliable federal funding to achieve only zero emission city bus sales from 2030

If the European Parliament and the European Commission prevail over the member states in the current trilogue negotiations, only zero-emission city buses will be allowed to be newly registered from 2030. The German VDV urges more reliable and constant funding from the federal level. “Small and...

Solaris wins orders for 100 e-buses between Berlin and Madrid

Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG), the Berlin public transport company, has placed an order for 50 Solaris Urbino 18 electric buses. The buses will be delivered in the years 2024 and 2025. The order can be extended by up to a further 650 articulated e-buses. In Madrid, EMT is going to receive 20 low-e...

Up to 30 Bluebus 6-meter e-buses headed to Turin (through Indcar’s dealership)

First commercial success achieved by the newly-formed partnership between Indcar and Bluebus. Indcar has indeed been awarded a tender for 22 (+ 8 optional) 6-meter e-buses in Turin, offering the Bluebus 6m. According to a deal signed in mid 2023, Indcar has become exclusive distributor of the B...

105 Solaris articulated e-buses headed to Milan with delivery starting in early 2025

Further Solaris electric buses are set to hit the roads of Milan. This time, the Italian metropolis will welcome 105 Urbino 18 electric buses. The delivery of the 105 articulated Solaris e-buses will start in first half of 2025. Also Iveco Bus has been winning a lot in the last tender issued by ATM ...

Ten year of zero-emission buses in London: Go-Ahead expects to have 1,000 units in operation by 2026

London’s largest bus operator, Go-Ahead London, states it has delivered a saving of 40,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions over ten years of operation of emission-free electric buses on behalf of Transport for London. Go-Ahead London operates 520 zero emission buses on behalf of TfL and expects t...

BeIntelli project goes live in Berlin: MAN and partners are working to deploy an autonomous bus on a digitalized test track

MAN‘s “BeIntelli” project, developed with the Technical University of Berlin and IAV GmbH, is set to introduce intelligent traffic systems with autonomous vehicles in Berlin by spring 2024. In May 2023 MAN announced it has entered a cooperation with Intel-owned Mobileye. MAN Truck ...

Iveco Bus wins 153 e-buses in Milan

Iveco Bus will supply 153 electric buses to Atm Milan. The manufacturer has in fact won the 12-metre lot in the €120 million tender launched by Milan’s public transport company, on the strength of an industrial plan to electrify the entire fleet of 1,200 buses by 2030. By 2026, half the fleet ...

Singapore, LTA awarded 360 e-buses to BYD and Zhongtong

Singapore is on its way to launch its the first large-scale award of electric buses with charging infrastructure. Singapore Acting Minister for Transport Chee Hong Tat just announced two contracts to procure a total of 360 electric buses (with option for further 60 vehicles) and another two contract...

Ebusco narrows revenue guidance for 2023 and announces a bookbuild offering and cost measures to be implemented in 2024

“Based on the current production in Deurne and the development at our assembly partners, Ebusco narrows its revenue guidance for the full year 2023 to arrive in the range of EUR 145-155 million, which reflects the lower half of the guidance as provided at the Q3 update. Operational expansion o...

End of public transport as we know it? Replay is available for our videreporting on DRT and autonomous driving

The transformation of public transport teetered on the edge as technology ushered in unprecedented flexibility. In our recently broadcasted videoreport, part of the Sustainable Bus Tour 2023 initiative, we delved into the intriguing topic: “The End of Public Transport as We Know It? On-Demand ...

California, SamTrans approves purchase of 108 fuel cell buses from New Flyer

The San Mateo County Transit District Board of Directors approved the purchase of up to 108 hydrogen fuel cell buses, moving SamTrans closer to its Emission Zero goal of entirely transitioning its fleet away from diesel by 2034.  When the fuel cell buses enter revenue service within t...

Volvo Buses, the first order for 15 electrics bodied by MCV

Volvo Buses has secured the first order for 15 Volvo 7900 Electric buses with MCV – Manufacturing Commercial Vehicles as coachbuilder, following the agreement made between the two companies in recent months and which we told you about. The order for the fifteen e-buses is placed by Luxembourg-...

29 Otokar e-Centro C minibuses are on their way for Italian local public transport

The debut had come in the spring of 2022 at Bus2Bus, when Otokar introduced the mini-electric e-Centro C to the bus world: 6.6 meters, powered by battery motor (110 kW lithium-ion NMC modules) with a maximum power output of 200 kW and a maximum torque of 1200 Nm, for a range of up to 200 […]

End of public transport as we know it? Tune in on 14th December for a videoreporting dealing with on-demand transport and autonomous driving

The landscape of public transport is on the brink of transformation, as technology opens doors to unprecedented flexibility. In our upcoming videoreporting belonging to the Sustainable Bus Tour 2023 initiative, we delve into the intriguing topic: “End of public transport as we know it? On-dema...

The Italian startup aiming to revolutionize passenger mobility through modularity. Next pods are ready for on-demand transport projects

Around 10 vehicles today involved in pilot projects. 50 vehicles will start roll out of production lines in 2024 headed to the European and Middle East market. And discussions are in progress for partnerships with industrial players that might help the startup to scale up larger volumes. We just had...

Battery-electric commercial vehicles will overcome those powered with diesel in 2035 globally, Interact Analysis says

Battery-electric technology is expected to replace ICE as the leading powertrain system for commercial vehicles by 2035, according to market intelligence firm Interact Analysis, that expects that almost 2.5 million battery electric commercial vehicles will be sold in 2035 compared with fewer th...

Rampini will provide further 45 electric midibuses in Genoa, bringing Rampini fleet to 94 units (the largest in Europe)

By the end of 2025, 94 Rampini electric midibuses will be running in Genoa. In fact, the 49 electric buses currently in circulation will be joined by another 45 units of the new Eltron type, which will strengthen Genoa’s public transport and make it even more sustainable: this is bound to be t...

Trackless tram trial launched in Stirling (Perth, Australia) with a 30-meter vehicle on wheels by CRRC

Australia’s first trackless tram is on the road, in a trial that the City of Stirling (suburb of Perth, Western Australia) hopes will see this mid-tier transit become a future public transport service connecting Glendalough Train Station to the iconic Scarborough Beach precinct. The 30-metre-long ve...

European Investment Bank awards Iveco Group a 500 million euros financing

500 million euros financing has been granted by the European Investment Bank (EIB) to Iveco Group. The loan of 450 million euros signed in Turin represents the first tranche of the 500 million total approved by the Board of Directors of the EIB. The loan, with an 8-year amortisation profile, will be...

BYD has been awarded over 140 e-buses in Naples (with Iveco winning 46 units)

Naples public transport municipal operator ANM has issued in September a tender for up to 253 electric buses in different lengths. Well, while the first two lots (65 short vehicles) gathered no bids, the winners of the remaining four lots are Iveco Bus and BYD, as reported on Italian trade media Aut...

Spotlight on the Citymood 12e by IIA: the VIDEO test drive

Manufactured in Flumeri, Southern Italy (some 100 km west of Naples), in one of the largest bus plants in Europe, the Menarini Citymood 12e, launched in late 2021, is the only standard size battery-electric bus featuring the ‘made in Italy’ label. It features a self-supporting steel fram...

Italy, 500 e-buses in four lots: Consip tender awarded to 8 OEMs. Karsan everywhere, surprises from TAM and Ebusco

A new contract for 500 battery-powered and fuel cell-powered buses (for the first time) has been awarded by Italian central purchasing body Consip to a total of 8 manufacturers. Such contracts worth a total of 327 million euros. It was issued in May 2023. Consip has awarded late last year the tender...

EU Parliament’s vote on emission rules for heavy vehicles: only ZE city bus sales by 2030, interurban buses to follow trucks’ rules

Just like the Council, the European Parliament voted in favor of the Commission’s 45% emission reduction target for manufacturers by 2030, escalating to 65% as of 2035, before jumping to 90% starting 2040. IRU’s reaction? “Unrealistic targets”. Now the policy framework moves ...

Prague is bringing trolleybuses back in town. The 24m Skoda-Solaris Trollino presented today at Czechbus

Prague Transport Company and Škoda Group have introduced today the Škoda-Solaris 24m, the longest trolleybus in the Czech Republic. Passengers using public transport to or from Václav Havel Airport Prague will soon be travelling on a long-awaited double-articulated, almost 25-metre-long battery-powe...

Iveco Bus launches new sales organization. Focus on regional operations and e-mobility services

Iveco Bus announces changes at its sales organisation with Petros Spinaris (formerly in Solaris and Ekoenergetyka) appointed Head of the new Energy Mobility Solutions department, Giorgio Zino in the position of Head of commercial operations in Europe, Danilo Fetzner at the helm of Latin America, Gau...

Proterra transit business goes to Phoenix Motorcars (after battery branch was sold to Volvo)

Phoenix Motorcars‘s bid has win the tender to acquire Proterra Transit business line, “through the auction of the assets pursuant to bankruptcy court approved bidding procedures”, as stated by the purchaser in a press note. The acquisition will add heavy-duty transit buses to Phoen...

CarMedialab wins TMB Barcelona’s tender for charge management of the e-bus fleet

Charge management systems provider CarMedialab has won the tender from TMB Barcelona to implement its MOBILEcharge technology on the entire operator’s electric bus fleet. Over 200 charging stations will be connected and integrated with the operational systems and the energy supply thanks to Ca...

Volvo e-buses for Spanish market will be built with Castrosua

Volvo Buses and the Spanish coachbuilder Castrosua have officially entered a strategic co-operation agreement for the production of electric buses headed to the Spanish market, as reported on Swedish trade media bussmagasinet.se. Castrosua has already entered similar agreements with BYD and Scania (...

FirstGroup forms joint venture with Hitachi to purchase up to 1,000 electric bus batteries (with an eye on 2nd life)

FirstGroup is entering a partnership with Hitachi as part of the Group’s bus fleet and infrastructure decarbonisation programme. The partnership will results in the establishment of a 50:50 joint venture named NextGen AssetCo Limited, that will be responsible for purchasing up to 1,000 electric bus ...

25,000 e-buses are going to be deployed in Latin America by 2030, research says

25,000 e-buses are expected to be on Latin American roads by 2030. Recent data indicates a growth of over 100% in the number of electric public buses between 2020 and April 2023 in the region, marking a pivotal moment in the quest for sustainable urban mobility. Currently, according to the E-Bus Rad...

Research forecasts 11-13% electric bus sales by 2025 in India

A share between 11 and 13% of new bus sales in 2025 are expected to be electric in India, according to a recent research by investment agency ICRA Limited. The penetration of zero-emission buses stood at 5-6 per cent during the first half of 2023. The Indian e-bus market witnessed a growth of 65% in...

Arriva wins two new contracts in London and will procure 87 new e-buses

Arriva UK Bus announces it has been awarded two new contracts to operate bus routes by Transport for London (TfL) in addition to retaining seven contracts as part of its existing London operations. Arriva is in the process of being sold from Deutsche Bahn to an investment fund. The two new routes wi...

First Karsan e-ATA 18 delivered in Italy: Bologna receives the first units (out of a 24-units order)

TPER‘s new electric buses have just been presented in Bologna: the first units out of 24 Karsan e-ATA 18-metre articulated buses have indeed reached their destination. The tender was awarded in 2022. It was the second e-bus procurement issued by TPER. The very first tender was awarded to VDL. ...

Zero emission buses delivered in Ireland, but charging infrastructure are not yet in place

“Dozens of zero-emission electric buses ordered by the National Transport Authority (NTA) 18 months ago are not yet in service, partly due to delays in installing charging infrastructure at two Dublin bus depots” reports Irish public service broadcaster RTÉ in an article later picked up ...

Volvo to acquire battery business from Proterra

The voluntary bankruptcy proceedings of Proterra Inc. and Proterra Operating Company Inc are underway: in this context, Volvo Group has been selected as the highest bidder in an auction for the business and assets of the Proterra Powered unit, at a purchase price of $210 million. The transaction bet...

The strength of the Dragon: from January to September 2023, China exported 30,840 bus&coach

From January to September this year, the volume of Chinese bus exports reached 30,840 units: +49.23 percent over the previous year. Going into the details of the data, the Dragon country exported 18,180 large buses and coaches (+85.11% over 2022), 4,839 medium-sized buses and coaches, an increase of...

Arriva will deploy further 34 Wrightbus double decker buses in London

Wrightbus will deliver 34 electric double-decker buses to Arriva for operations in London. The latest StreetDeck Electroliner buses will be rolled out across the capital next year and takes the total number of vehicles on order with the bus operator to over 100. Deliveries of the Electroliner from p...

Next generation e-bus range by Alexander Dennis: Enviro100EV and 400EV unveiled

Alexander Dennis has launched today, 1st November 2023, its next generation of battery-electric buses for the UK and Ireland (announced in August 2022) with the unveiling of the new Enviro100EV small bus and Enviro400EV double decker. They are part of a wider family of next-generation zero-emission ...

BKK Budapest issues tender for 50 electric buses

Budapest has plans to deploy 50 new e-buses, as a new procurement has just been launched. Budapest tram fleet is also being renewed: BKK and the Municipality of Budapest, as part of the Széchenyi Plan Plus programme, have purchased 51 new vehicles, of the Urbos 3 type built by the Spa...

One-thousandth e-bus in London enters service (Voith playing a major role)

Transport for London (TfL) recently celebrated the launch of its 1,000th zero-emission bus – a StreetDeck Electroliner that entered service with Metroline at its Edgware garage, manufactured by Wrightbus and equipped with the Voith Electrical Drive System (VEDS). TfL plans to have its entire bus fle...

Santiago de Chile introduces Optibus AI-based software to manage public transportation system citywide

Optibus, an artificial intelligence operating system for public transportation, has been chosen by SONDA S.A., a contractor of the Directorio de Transporte Público Metropolitano (DTPM) of Santiago, as the official planning, scheduling, and EV management software for all buses across the city, with t...

Iveco Crossway hits the figure of 60,000 units produced (it’s by far the best-selling intercity bus in Europe)

Iveco Bus Crossway range has broken a new production record as the 60,000th unit rolled off the assembly line since its launch in 2006. Manufacturing, as widely known, takes place at the Vysoke Myto plant (Czech Republic), one of the largest facility in Czech Republic and Eastern Europe, and Europe’...

First demonstrations of Volvo e-bus in Latin America started from Curitiba, Brazil

Volvo Buses announces it has begun the first demonstration of its 100% electric city bus in real operation in Latin America. The Volvo BZL Electric will run on two routes in Curitiba, Brazil, which connect dozens of neighbourhoods, transporting 135,000 passengers daily and integrating with the city&...

Bari will have 36 e-buses in operation (9.5m Iveco E-Way and 10.5m by IIA)

Bari (Italy) will soon receive its first 36 electric buses. The municipality has given the green light to the use of Next Generation EU funds for the purchase of 23 Iveco Bus E-Way 9.5-metre e-buses under an agreement with Consip, at a total cost of 13,1 million euro. At the same time, 13 10.5-metre...

I Squared takes over Arriva Group, DB focuses on growth in German rail market

Following the anticipations of a few days ago, now it’s official: Deutsche Bahn AG (DB) and I Squared Capital have signed an agreement for the sale of the whole of Arriva Group, including all of its operating businesses across 10 European markets, to infrastructure investment manager I Squared...

Nobina orders 55 15-meter electric buses from Solaris for Stockholm public transport

Nordens’s largest bus operator, Nobina, has placed an order for 55 electric regional buses from Solaris. These buses are slated for service in the Stockholm region under the supervision of SL (Storstockholms Lokaltrafik), the public transport authority in the area. The 15-meter-long three-axle...

Busworld Europe 2023 welcomed 40,120 visitors from 111 countries

Busworld Europe 2023 welcomed 40,120 visitors from 111 countries, reaffirming its status as a global industry highlight. The event also hosted nearly 350 members of the press representing 44 countries. This year’s Busworld Europe proved to be a monumental success, covering 75,000 square meters...

European Council proposes moving the end of diesel/CNG city bus sales in Europe to 2035

European Council has reached an agreement on a proposal to update and strengthen the regulation on CO2 emission standards for heavy-duty vehicles. The proposed amendment “introduces a 100% zero-emission target for urban buses by 2035, while setting an intermediate target of 85% ...

Deutsche Bahn gets closer to selling Arriva to focus on domestic business

Infrastructure investor I Squared Capital is on the cusp of finalizing a deal to purchase Arriva, Deutsche Bahn’s international transport business, as reported on international media such as Reuters and Financial Times. The transaction would value Arriva, a prominent operator of London’s...

Hitachi Energy to provide flash-charging technology in Genoa for new BRT line

Genoa will be the first city in Italy to have a city line with a flash charging system in place before the end of 2025. Hitachi Energy Grid-eMotion charging technologies will support in the electrification   of the new bus line of the city of Genoa. Hitachi Energy announces it has won an order from ...

BYD to open a new EV factory in Brazil (revamping a Ford facility). One plant will focus on chassis for e-buses and e-trucks

BYD is set to revamp a defunct Ford factory in Camaçari, Bahia, Brazil, as reported on Brazilian report. This factory closed in January 2021, causing the loss of 4,000 jobs. Chinese giant BYD plans to create three new facilities, with production expected to begin by the end of the next year, aiming ...

The first e-buses deployed on Belgian regional transport services? Mercedes eCitaro for Ferry Cars

The regional public transport operator Ferry Cars from Belgium has put five new Mercedes-Benz eCitaro low-floor city buses with all-electric drive into operation. The operator, based in the city of Eeklo, which is located in the north of the Belgian province of East Flanders in the Meetjesland regio...

Ebusco 3.0 assembled by a “international partner” will be delivered starting in November

Ebusco has set the goal to deliver between 250 and 300 vehicles in the year 2023, with revenue between 145 and 165 million euros. In the first half of 2023, according to CME Chatrou Solutions data, Ebusco had registered 121 e-buses. The Dutch company is facing a though time on the stock exchange: it...

Bus and coach drivers’ shortage grew 54% in 2023, IRU calculates. 80% of operators face difficulties filling positions

Europe’s bus and coach driver shortage widens 54%, according to IRU. 105,000 driver positions are missing, 10 percent of the total professional driver population. Over 80% of bus and coach operating companies face severe difficulties to fill driver positions. And driver shortages are forecast to mor...

Iveco Bus e-buses on stage at Busworld are all equipped with new ADAS technology

Iveco Bus has been premiering one of the highlights of Busworld Europe 2023, the E-Way H2 equipped with a fuel cell system by HTWO, Hyundai Motor Group’s fuel cell system-based hydrogen business brand. The company has been showing its full offering of electric vehicles, from city and intercity buses...

Now BYD 12-meter e-bus is equipped with extra slim Blade Battery integrated in chassis

BYD premieres two new pure-electric buses at Busworld 2023, alongside two existing models in Europe: the BYD eBus B19 (18.75m) and the BYD eBus B15 (15m), as announced. The 12-metre BYD eBus B12 and the BYD-UNVI DD13 Double-Decker coach both make their European debut at the Expo. What is worth menti...

Here it comes Temsa – CaetanoBus fuel cell coach

Temsa showcases at Busworld three models from its zero-emission product range at the Busworld Europe, starting with its intercity hydrogen bus, a collaborative project with CaetanoBus. The producer claims this vehicle is capable of covering a distance of 1,000 kilometers on a single refill. The vehi...

MAN, Iveco Bus and Setra win the Sustainable Bus Awards 2024

The Sustainable Bus Awards 2024 were handed over on October 6, 2023, amidst the glitz and glamour of the “Gala Night” at the Busworld Europe 2023 (Bruxelles Expo, 7-12 October). In the “Urban” category, the top accolade was bestowed upon the MAN Lion’s City 10 E. The MAN Lion’s City 10 E emerged as ...

Iveco Group unveils on the E-Way H2, developed with Hyundai Motor Company

Iveco Group and Hyundai Motor Company today (6th October) unveiled the first Iveco Bus E-Way H2 at Busworld 2023 in Brussels. This new hydrogen-powered fuel cell electric bus is another concrete result of the partnership the two companies announced in March 2022 and reflects their commitment to acce...

Scania unveiled its new battery-electric bus platform in Busworld

The new Scania battery-electric bus platform made its debut at Busworld on 6th October. With the introduction of low-entry 4×2 buses, the batteries offer energy storage capacity of up to 520 kWh and have been developed specifically for heavy commercial vehicles, enabling a range in optimal cond...

According to Daimler Buses, only electrically powered city buses should be allowed in Europe from 2030

Daimler Buses believes that a halving of CO2 emissions from new buses in Europe is possible from 2030, compared to 2025, across all segments. To achieve this, a comprehensive supportive policy framework is necessary. The company made this announcement today at Busworld in Brussels, thus supporting E...

Mechanical stress and physical damage as causes for battery fire

The terrible incident that occurred in Mestre/Venice on the evening of Tuesday, October 3rd, has relaunched the debate on the challenges posed by electric vehicles in terms of fire risk. The electric bus, manufactured by the Chinese group Yutong (the largest bus manufacturer in the world as well as ...

The first MAN e-bus delivered outside Europe goes in South Africa

MAN has delivered its first complete electric bus in Africa, specifically in Cape Town. The Lion’s Explorer E vehicle delivered in South Africa is based on the new Lion’s Chassis E, which is scheduled to go into series production from 2024. This was anticipated by Head of Bus Barbaros Ok...

Dancer Bus: two e-bus models from Lithuania premiered at Busworld (with empty weight of 8.6 tons)

Lithuanian “Vėjo projektai,” a consortium specializing in electrification solutions for public transport, marked its debut at Busworld 2023 in Brussels, Belgium, from October 7-12. The group showcased their electric Dancer buses at one of Europe’s most significant commercial passen...

Gaussin and Macnica have taken over Navya. New entity GAMA to showcase a driverless shuttle at Busworld

GAMA, the newly-formed entity resulting from the merger of Gaussin and Macnica (whose joint venture has taken over Navya business in April 2023) is making its debut appearance at Busworld. At Busworld, GAMA will present its L4 technology as part of the EFIBA project (Emergence Filière Bus Autonomes)...

Spotlight on MAN Lion’s City 10 E, the 10.5m e-bus that completes the Lion’s family

Four years later, MAN is back with a 10.5-meter urban bus and immediately aims for consistent figures. Derived from the Lion’s City 12 E, the MAN 10 E aims to conquer a large share of a market still almost to be discovered, until now reserved for Turkish and Chinese manufacturers and… for Iriz...

*NEW* Sustainable Bus Magazine printed issues are now available (also) on subscription

Embracing the evolving landscape of media and meeting our readers’ growing demands, we’re excited to announce a significant milestone in our journey. Sustainable Bus Magazine is now available ALSO through a subscription service for its printed issues. Please note, this doesn’t mean...

Alexander Dennis selects contract manufacturing partner for restarting DD production in North America

Alexander Dennis has appointed Big Rig Manufacturing as contract manufacturing partner for the production of Enviro500 double decker in North America. Big Rig Manufacturing is a subsidiary of Big Rig Collision Group, a leading provider of truck, bus and motorcoach accident repairs in Canada and the ...

Scania is ready to launch a new e-bus platform with Castrosua, starting with Low Entry

Scania has a surprise in store for those who will be attending Busworld Europe 2023 in Brussels. The group, that earlier this year has announced the decision to cease body production for Scania bus chassis in Poland and to continue offering complete buses and coaches thanks to partnerships with body...

Altas Auto and Zhongtong enter partnership for e-midibus production in Europe (concept premiere at Busworld)

Altas Auto is expanding its EV bus lineup through a strategic cooperation with Chinese manufacturer Zhongtong Bus. The Lithuanian company, specialized in minibuses, has just announced the move: the portfolio will be increased with two battery-electric buses. The first one, 7.5-meter long, will be pr...

With the 8 new Trollino presented today, Parma (Italy) has completely renewed its trolleybus fleet

Eight new trolleybuses (Solaris Trollino 12 with Kiepe Electric equipment) presented today, another 25 buses set to arrive by the end of the year and a batch of e-buses (the first for the city) to be delivered in 2024 (again Solaris, from central body Consip). These are the stages followerd by TEP P...

MAN welcomes its first electric Low Entry bus. It’ll be at Busworld with the new 14-meter Intercity

We are two weeks or so away from the most important event for the bus & coach world, namely Busworld, which stops in Brussels from October 7 to 12. Ahead of the event, MAN has organized a press event, of which Autobus and Sustainable Bus were part. In Nuremberg, in fact, the Munich-based lion br...

FPT Industrial will bring batteries and BMS in Brussels for Busworld Europe 2023

FPT Industrial will participate in Busworld 2023 focusing on battery packs for minibuses and buses, as well as an in-house developed BMS At its stand (No. 424 – Hall 4), FPT Industrial will present its complete line of innovative and sustainable solutions for mass transport. In its debut as an...

MAN has produced 1,000 electric buses so far

In mid-September, the 1,000th MAN Lion’s City E rolled off the production line at the MAN plant in Starachowice, Poland, the group states. In the future, the Lion’s City 12 E will be deployed in Madrid, as the vehicles has just been order by the transport company Auto Periferia S.A., a s...

A trolleybus by Solaris has been tested for the first time in North America

“For the first time in the history of Solaris, a vehicle of our brand came to North America”. The announcement has been made by the Polish manufacturer today, 15th September. In the coming years, the manufacturer “is considering offering exclusively zero-emission vehicles on those ...

Eyes on the Isuzu Citivolt 12, the first electric 12-meter vehicles in the brand’s offer

It’s not an entirely new development, as the world premiere took place at the IAA Transportation in Hannover in September 2022. After introducing the Novociti Volt as a midibus to the market, Isuzu has now available a full-sized urban bus, measuring 12 meters in length: the Citivolt 12. This i...

Temsa aims to launch a fuel cell coach on the market in 2024 thanks to CaetanoBus – Toyota H2 technology

CaetanoBus and Temsa have announced they are about to launch a jointly-developed fuel cell coach in 2024. The vehicle will be based on the battery-electric Temsa HD12, with fuel cell technology coming from CaetanoBus partner (and shareholder) Toyota. The nascent fuel cell coach segment is then start...

90 Solaris hydrogen buses for the Venice Lagoon

The first Solaris hydrogen buses have arrived in Venice. The four vehicles are 12 meters long-the queen size for urban transport-and represent the green turnaround of the new Avm/Actv, the local public transport company, engaged in urban and suburban mainland. Hydrogen refueling will be provided at ...

Solaris has won the largest European H2 bus tender so far. 130 Urbino hydrogen for TPER

Solaris has secured a contract to provide 130 hydrogen-powered Urbino 12 buses to the municipal public transport operator TPER in Bologna. This represents one of the largest fuel cell bus orders in Europe and aligns with Bologna’s goal of transitioning to a fully zero-emission urban public tra...

Battery-electric vs fuel cell buses? New study found FCEB running costs are 2.3 times higher than BEBs

No, we’re not just throwing around random numbers, nor are we setting odds like bookmakers. That 0.55 and 1.27 followed by the euro symbol refer to the cost per kilometer of electric and hydrogen buses in service for SASA Bolzano. A new study found that, for the same mileage, FCEB operating co...

Accelera by Cummins, Daimler Truck and Paccar intend to produce battery cells for electric CVs in the USA

Accelera by Cummins, Daimler Truck and Paccar announce a partnership for manufacturing of battery cells for electric commercial vehicles and industrial applications in the United States”. Total investment is expected to be in the range of $2-3 billion for the 21-gigawatt hour (GWh) factor...

Volvo Buses – MCV agreement is done (and includes also the development of an intercity e-bus)

Not just electric city buses: also “an electric bus for intercity traffic” is included (although “later”) in Volvo Buses – MCV agreement, announced in late April 2023 when a letter of intent was signed. Now the agreement is done. Production is expected to start in 2024 ...

VDL, the bus & coach crisis in financial figures: revenue down 40% in half 2023

VDL Groep states it has “achieved this year’s growth forecast in the first half of 2023”, quantified in a 5 to 10 percent increase in turnover growth in the full year. “Net profit declined after the first six months of the year, although the net operating result has grown”, s...

Road to carbon neutrality: the Zero Emission Bus Conference returns to Busworld Europe

The Zero Emission Bus (ZEB) Conference returns for its fifth edition this October at Busworld Europe, scheduled to take place in Brussels Oct. 7-12, the most important event for the bus&coach world, which counts 500+ exhibitors including the 80 biggest bus manufacturers. Indeed, hundreds operato...

VDL and Schaeffler are working together on driverless shuttles (with Mobileye technology)

VDL Groep and automotive supplier Schaeffler announce they are jointly exploring the development and production of a new generation of self-driving electric shuttles for public transport. The two family-owned companies will be showing a first demonstrator of the vehicle at IAA Mobility in Munich. Th...

Solaris wins 322 CNG buses and 110 mild hybrid in Rome

Solaris has won both lots of the tender called by Giubileo 2025 spa for a total of 110 hybrid articulated city buses and as many as 322 CNG vehicles, of which 244 are to be supplied immediately plus 78 are subject to the approval of ATAC‘s new Economic and Financial Plan. The news is reported ...

UK, Harrogate Bus Company is set to deploy 19 Mercedes eCitaro (and 19 Alexander Dennis Enviro 400EV)

The Harrogate Bus Company has placed orders worth £21 million for 39 new buses (20 Mercedes eCitaro and 19 Alexander Dennis Enviro 400EV) and to equip its depot to convert its entire Harrogate fleet to fully electric power. The orders are supported by £7.8 million of funding from the Government’s Ze...

Otokar at Busworld Europe 2023 with three premiere: e-Territo, Kent hydrogen, driverless e-Centro

With the Busworld Europe 2023 exhibition just around the corner (scheduled from October 7 to 12), Otokar is gearing up to present its latest lineup of vehicles. Otokar’s indoor booth will feature five vehicles, two of which will make their world premieres. The e-Territo, a 13-meter electric co...

TfL introduces over 80 new zero-emission buses in Sutton (and add over 1 million km per year to outer London bus services)

Transport for London (TfL) has enhanced bus services to deliver an extra one million bus kilometres in outer London every year. TfL is also delivering a further boost to its zero emission bus fleet, with more than 80 zero emission buses introduced in the south London borough of Sutton. TfL stresses ...

Solaris, MAN, BYD-ADL: here’s the podium of the European electric bus market for the first half of 2023

With 2,567 battery-electric buses registered in the fist half of 2023, the European e-bus market is growing 45%. Over a third of the city bus market (37.5%), on a European level, is covered by zero-emission buses (battery-electric and fuel cell). Main news, MAN is for the first time taking a primary...

Iveco Bus and Solaris won ATM tender for e-buses in Milan (for 310 vehicles)

ATM Milano has awarded the two lots of the tender cancelled last April. Iveco Bus and Solaris came out as winners, Italian media Autobusweb reports. For the Polish manufacturer it is a reconfirmation: it’ll deliver 105 Urbino 18 electric. For Iveco Bus it is an absolute first in Milan with e-b...

Proterra seeks Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection

Proterra has filed for Chapter 11 protection in a bid to reinvigorate its financial standing. While navigating this process, the company is committed to maintaining normal business operations and harnessing the opportunity to optimize its product lines. Reuters noted that ”Proterra, whose shares nea...

Solaris has just delivered 10 Urbino 12 hydrogen in Germany

In recent weeks, Solaris has delivered 10 hydrogen buses to two German customers from the Upper Bavaria region. 5 Urbino 12 hydrogen were delivered to the carrier Busreisen Ettenhuber GmbH, and another 5 to Martin Geldhauser GmbH & Co. KG. The buses are scheduled to enter regular service this fa...

Ebusco, new contract in Munich: 28 18-meter buses for MVG

Ebusco wins another contract from Stadtwerke München for 28 Ebusco 3.0 18-metre buses. MVG already has Ebusco 2.2 and 3.0 buses in operation. SWM has ordered the low-floor articulated buses with a particularly large battery pack (>500 kWh) for MVG. Ebusco to deliver buses in Munich (again) The buses...

EU sales of e-buses increased by 34% in first half of 2023, according to ACEA

ACEA has released the latest commercial vehicle registrations in Europe, referred to the first half of the year. New EU bus registrations also had a solid first half of 2023, as sales rose 15% to 14,781 units. In terms of sales volumes, France led the way with 2,982 units sold, representin...

Dublin Bus is testing its first e-buses. NTA has ordered another 210 vehicles from Wrightbus

Nine e-buses have been delivered in Dublin out of a 120-units NTA order dating back to June 2022. Driver training, vehicle testing and route piloting has got under way, as these are the first battery-electric buses that have arrived in Dublin. The NTA board has recently approved the ordering of an a...

Next Modular Vehicles, the Italian modular e-bus gets a €2.5 million investment from UAE

It is called Next Modular Vehicles, and it is the first electric bus with a modular imprinting, so that it can be adjusted for any capacity need. The concept was conceived by the Italian company NExT, founded by Tommaso Gecchelin, a graduate in Physics and Industrial Design. The company has an opera...

6 EU countries only registered zero-emission city buses in Q2 2023 (and ZE share grew to 40%)

Share of zero-emission buses is growing in the European city bus market. In Q2 2023 it was 40%, up from the 30% of the first quarter of the year (same share for the whole 2022). The sales figures, along with a chart (published below), was shared by Eamonn Mulholland, Associate Researcher at The Inte...

ABC Companies with Proterra for the largest electric motorcoach charging hub in North America

ABC Companies and Proterra have opened the largest electric motorcoach charging facility in North America, the partners announce. The first is North America dealer for Van Hool (that has e-coaches in its offering, starting from early 2021). Located on a 3.5-acre campus in Newark, California, the fac...

In Rome ATAC will build an electrolyser in its depot. There will be 30 H2 buses running, city councillor says

An electrolysis plant will be built at ATAC’s Acilia depot in Rome. Green hydrogen will be produced for use on 30 fuel cell buses that are set to be deployed in the city (no information of tenders has been released so far, however fuel cell buses are included in the last call for tender issued...

EU is looking for a deal with Latin American countries: e-buses in exchange with lithium supplies, Bloomberg says

European Commission officials would be developing a plan to provide electric buses to Latin American countries in exchange for access to lithium supplies. The news is reported on Bloomberg, that quotes “people familiar with the plan”. This plan would be part of the EU’s broader strategy called...

Rimini, a tender for up to 114 electric buses (12 and 8 meter)

START Romagna has launched a tender for the purchase of electric buses headed to Rimini. The tender is worth EUR 106.8 million and a deadline of 6 September 2023. The news is reported on the Italian media Autobusweb, belonging to the same publisher as Sustainable Bus. They will not be the first elec...

Abellio’s 111th electric bus (by Wrightbus) goes into operation in West London

Abellio is celebrating the launch of its full electric fleet on Route 111 in West London. This growth in EV vehicles sees the company’s 111th electric bus going into operation, on route 111. The new fleet of electric buses operating on route 111, consisting of Wrightbus Electroliner vehicles, ...

Iveco won a 225 e-bus tender in Turin (in cooperation with Enel X)

Iveco Bus won the tender issued by GTT Torino, winning all three lots, together with Enel X as utility provider and Iveco Orecchia as dealer. Part of this vehicles will be used on a new BRT line. Earlier this year, Iveco Bus was awarded a tender for 120 electric buses issued by Autoguidovie. Iveco B...

New organization, challenges, strategies. Our interview with MAN Head of Bus Barbaros Oktay

In March 2023 MAN bus business’ structure was heavily reorganized. Rudi Kuchta, until then Head of Business Unit Bus, left the position for a role as boss of truck and bus business in Austria, replaced by Robert Katzer. What is more, Barbaros Oktay was appointed in the newly cre...

Go-Ahead London to add nearly 300 electric buses from BYD–Alexander Dennis in 2023

Go-Ahead has signed a repeat order for 141 BYD – Alexander Dennis electric buses. Such purchase will bring the total to be delivered to the operator during 2023 to 299 vehicles. They will take the total number of BYD–Alexander Dennis electric buses in the Go-Ahead London fleet to 577, confirmi...

Daimler Buses tells about how the eCitaro fuel cell was winter-tested on the Alps ahead of series production

Daimler Buses has tested its new Mercedes eCitaro fuel cell bus in extreme alpine conditions before the start of series production. The eCitaro fuel cell, the first regular-service bus by Daimler Buses equipped with a fuel cell to extend its range, demonstrated its capabilities during a challenging ...

411 electric buses up for grabs in Rome

ATAC has issued a long-awaited tender for as many as 411 electric buses. Being more specific: 396 12-metre and 15 18-metre vehicles. The tender is partly financed by the carrier’s budget funds and partly by the NextGenerationEU. Estimated value for the operation? 368.58 million euros. The dead...

Cagliari to receive 98 new e-buses from Solaris

CTM Cagliari has selected Solaris as the supplier for 98 electric buses of the Urbino electric model. The order includes 80 units of twelve-meter vehicles and 18 units of articulated buses. This contract is part of a framework agreement signed in 2023 with Italian central purchasing body Consip. In ...

UITP, IRU, ACEA urge EU to exclude Class II Low-Entry buses from urban bus definition in new CO2 emission targets

UITP, IRU and ACEA call legislators to remove Class II low-entry buses from the urban bus definition included in the new CO2 emission targets proposed by EU Commission earlier this year, that would imply also diesel low entry buses to be banned from 2030. In our new position paper, UITP reviews the ...

Fleet charging according to a giant like ABB E-mobility. The interview

Among the key players at the UITP Summit in Barcelona, in the galaxy of “components” that is the vital counterpart of the vehicle manufacturer industry, ABB stands out. And specifically the ABB E-mobility division, which chose the stage in Catalonia to unveil its new power system for mix...

Van Hool’s new Series A e-buses for De Lijn, which puts them into service in Kortrijk

Flemish transport company De Lijn has prepared the breakthrough in the name of zero emissions public transport in the Kortrijk region. In fact, since a few days passengers can use the first three electric buses, which will be complemented by 13 more e-buses in the coming weeks. All of them will be V...

Launch of electric Daily, local adaptation, ‘turnkey solution’ approach. Gauthier Ricord outlines Iveco Bus strategies for Latin America

Iveco Bus is set to launch the electric Daily in the Latin American market. The brand is approaching its entry in the e-mobility landscape of the region with a offer that will go along with a ‘turnkey solution’ approach (and with a localization process of the product). Gauthier Ricord, P...

Electreon wins tender for electric road in Trondheim, Norway

Israeli wireless charging solutions provider Electreon has won a tender in Trondheim (Norway) for implementation of a wireless Electric Road System (ERS) for charging a bus wirelessly. The route will be managed by AtB AS. The picture shared by project partners portrays a Van Hool 24-meter Exqui.City...

Exploring the “Electrification of bus Fleets in the Americas”. New VideoSpotlight on broadcasting REPLAY AVAILABLE

The electrification of bus fleets is rapidly gaining traction in both Latin America and North America, with significant advancements taking place on both continents. To shed light on this transformative trend, a VideoSpotlight event was held on June 27th, featuring industry experts and key stakehold...

EvoBus becomes Daimler Buses. Change will be effective as of 12 July 2023

EvoBus becomes Daimler Buses. Announced today, the change will be effective as of 12 July 2023. Affiliated European national subsidiaries will also be renamed accordingly. The denomination “EvoBus” will then disappear. EvoBus service centres, previously known as “BusWorld Home”, will be ...

Ebusco 3.0 for Stockholm: 50 units ordered (+75 on option)

Ebusco expands in Sweden with up to 125 12-meter buses (50 ordered, 75 on option) in Stockholm Delivery of the first 50 buses (model Ebusco 3.0) is scheduled for 2024 and the 75 buses are under option for delivery in 2025. Keolis Sverige has won the E42 tender in and around Stockholm (Bromma, Solna,...

95 Mercedes eCitaro will be in operation in The Hague (NL)

The Hague’s operator HTM will deploy 95 Mercedes-Benz eCitaro buses and associated charging infrastructure, as announced in a press note by the carrier. It’s one of the largest e-bus contract received so far by Daimler Buses. The order is provisionally awarded, and it will become final o...

Transport & Environment calls EU to ban diesel buses already in 2027

Below, an article published on May 2023 issue of Sustainable Bus magazine.By James Nix, Director, Freight and Climate, Transport & Environment Cities are increasingly buying electric buses. Almost one in three newly-registered urban buses in 2022 was zero emission. That’s a doubling of the ...

1,000th eCitaro produced: Daimler Buses celebrates the milestone (and the Omnibusspiegel’s award)

Mercedes-Benz is celebrating a major achievement as the 1,000th unit of the eCitaro rolls off the production line in Mannheim. Over the past five years, the Mercedes eCitaro has gained significant traction, with numerous orders from cities like Hamburg, Dresden, Bremen, Wiesbaden, and Mannheim, as w...

Ebusco starts delivery of Ebusco 3.0 from serial production. Soon on the road in the Netherlands for Transdev

First Ebusco 3.0 with Transdev’s livery will hit the road soon in the Netherlands. They are the first coming out from series production. The delivery “marks a new phase towards a production capacity of 3,000 buses per year“, Ebusco states (such plan was already announced earlier th...

Scania new bus strategy in Europe: “Market is changing, we need to focus”. Our interview with SVP Head of Bus & Coach Johanna Lind

Scania has announced on the 30th of May 2023 a significant change in its business model and industrial strategy in Europe. It’ll cease body production for Scania bus chassis in Poland and will continue offering complete buses and coaches thanks to partnerships with bodybuilders. Production of ...

Go-Ahead wins contract for e-BRT in Kent (and is in discussion to deploy 28 Irizar ie tram)

The Go-Ahead Group has been awarded a 15-year contract worth £110 million by Kent County Council to operate Kent’s Fastrack bus rapid transit system. Go-Ahead London division will operate the service from November 2024. Existing buses will replaced with a zero emission fleet on the network, which ru...

Yutong U11DD: the double-decker electric bus ready for UK market

Yutong is going to market a zero-emission double-decker buses for UK market. Named U11DD, it’ll be distributed by Pelican. Two demonstrators will be available in UK from September to November. The Yutong U11DD “is a fully integral vehicle, and optimised for low total cost of ownership. T...

EvoBus, MAN, Iveco Bus, ZF, BYD at the forefront: our report from the UITP 2023 Summit

EvoBus showcased the eCitaro fuel cell version at the UITP Global Public Transport Summit 2023. They also announced the establishment of a new division dedicated to charging infrastructure. Meanwhile, MAN made a firm statement that there will be no diesel Euro 7 urban bus in the group’s offer....

18-meter hydrogen buses for Bolzano: 9-units lot awarded to Mercedes

Nine Mercedes-Benz eCitaro fuel cell, with hydrogen range extenders, will operate under the livery of Italian operator SASA Bolzano. In fact, EvoBus won the lot for the hydrogen-powered articulated buses as part of the tender that saw IIA winning, with partner CaetanoBus, the 12-metre lot. The news ...

YEA, Yutong new e-vehicles architecture, launched in Zhengzhou (with weight savings and 3rd generation e-axle)

Yutong YEA new electric vehicle architecture has been presented during a dedicated global event held in Zhengzhou, China. YEA stands for Yutong Electric Architecture. It’s an advanced, scalable and self-evolving EV architecture that enhances the Chinese manufacturer’s commercial vehicles through a n...

Daimler Buses Solutions launched: a new subsidiary with focus on designing and building e-infrastructure

Daimler Buses is establishing a new wholly owned subsidiary: Daimler Buses Solutions GmbH specializes in designing and building e-infrastructure. “Existing expertise is being pooled in the subsidiary. Its stand-alone status and entrepreneurial freedom provide for fast growth and short decision...

MAN will not invest in Euro 7 for the city bus segment. Only e-buses to be sold in Europe in 2030

“In 2030 we will not sell any combustion engine city bus in Europe. Euro 7 standards put OEMs in a difficult situation: it’s not possible to develop Euro 7 for the whole range, investments for the Class I segment would never been recouped. Looking at the evolution of the city bus market ...

Renée Amilcar, from Ottawa’s OC Transpo, elected as President of UITP for 2023-2025

Renée Amilcar, the General Manager of Transit Services at OC Transpo, City of Ottawa, has been elected as the new President of the International Association of Public Transport (UITP). The official announcement came during the association’s General Assembly held today 4th June 2023, marking th...

Bluebus-Indcar agreement for e-minibus distribution in Italy and Spain

Handshake on the Franco-Spanish ace between Bluebus and Indcar, which will become exclusive distributor of the Bluebus 6 m minibus in Spain and Italy. For its part, Indcar will bring its knowledge of the two markets, its technical expertise and its mastery of the marketing and maintenance of vehicle...

Quantron lands in Italy: Quantron Italy Srl, welcome

We told you about it in recent weeks, and now it’s official: Quantron expands its global operations and establishes an Italian division, Quantron Italy Srl, as the result of a joint venture with a local company. The German manufacturer, in fact, has won in Italy what is so far its largest orde...

Discovering the short, lightweight and electric Iveco Bus eDaily

In addition to the new generation of the E-Way, the first-ever electric Crossway – the Crossway LE Electric – and also the first-ever electric Streetway, Iveco Bus unveiled a fourth noteworthy innovation at “Feel the Blue Pulse,” the event dedicated to electromobility held in...

Scania to cease bus body production in Poland and to offer buses in cooperation with bodybuilders

Production of Scania Citywide, Scania Interlink, and Low floor-chassis will be discontinued. Body production at Scania plant in Słupsk, Poland, "will be gradually ended by the first quarter of 2024. This decision will not affect chassis production in Słupsk nor other Scania entities in Poland".

What to expect from UITP Summit in Barcelona? A guide to news and anticipations [TO BE UPDATED]

UITP Global Public Transport Summit 2023 in Barcelona is just around the corner, promising a platform for industry leaders to showcase their latest advancements in the public transport sector. This highly anticipated event is set to unveil groundbreaking innovations that will shape the future of urb...

It looks like Irizar will bring a fuel cell coach on the market soon

Among the finalists for the Sustainable Bus Awards 2024, one model stands out: the Irizar i6S Efficient Hydrogen. Nobody has never heard of it before. Picture was provided by the Basque group a couple days ago and included in the communication materials released by the award’s organization. No...

The eCitaro will be produced (also) in France. €50M investment in Ligny-en-Barrois

Daimler Truck has announced plans to produce the Mercedes eCitaro at their plant in Ligny-en-Barrois, France. This move is part of the group’s investment of approximately 50 million euros by 2030 to expand the production of electric buses at the French location. The conversion and modernizatio...

Electric city buses outpaced diesel bus sales in Europe in Q1 2023

More electric city buses than diesel-only buses have been sold in the first quarter of 2023 in Europe (EU+UK). It’s a paradigm shift highlighted by ICCT. However, it should be mentioned that diesel and hybrid buses (most of those are mild hybrid ones) together still make up the majority of the...

Latest-generation Van Hool e-buses deployed by De Lijn in Limburg

Starting from 30 May, Flemish operator De Lijn will operate the first electric buses of its latest generation in Limburg, more specifically from the Winterslag depot in Limburg on the Genk city network and on some regional lines between Genk, Hasselt, Tongeren and Houthalen. De Lijn has plans to mak...

Crossway LE Elec, eDaily, Streetway Electric: up the curtain on Iveco Bus e-novelties in Paris

Crossway LE Elec, eDaily for passengers’ transportation, Streetway Electric. These are the three innovations launched today (24th May) by Iveco Bus during an electromobility-focused event held in Paris. Also a ‘new generation’ version of the E-Way was launched. One of the key highl...

Preparations underway for MINGA project in Munich: spotlight on driverless ride-pooling, platooning, autonomous buses

An autonomous on-demand ride-pooling service with three to five vehicles and two automated bus systems, one made of one driverless MAN electric bus (with autonomous technology by Mobileye) and the other operated via two Ebusco 3.0 connected via platooning. These are the ingredients of MINGA project,...

Busworld Europe 2023 figures, highlights, topics. Our interview with MD Mieke Glorieux on the way to October’s expo

Busworld Europe 2023 is set to be live in Brussels from 7 to 12 October. Exhibitors are going to exceed 500, including a significant number of new companies (around 27% of the total). Focus? E-mobility, hydrogen, digital solutions. Among the main news, the ‘integration’ of the European Z...

Mercedes eCitaro fuel cell will ‘see the light’ at UITP Summit 2023

Daimler Buses will unveil the Mercedes eCitaro fuel cell at UITP Global Public Transport Summit in early June. At the group’s stand, visitors will have the opportunity to see the first series-production eCitaro electric bus with a fuel cell as a range extender. First order for the vehicles dat...

“Orders for electric trucks and buses to rise to 54,000 units by 2025” in the US. Our interview with Mike Hynes, CALSTART

The zero emission bus market in the United States is experiencing a remarkable surge, with significant advancements and unprecedented funding opportunities driving the adoption of electric buses. In this interview, Mike Hynes, National Transit Bus Program Manager at CALSTART, sheds light on the late...

New magazine issue is out: come get a copy at UITP Summit (or read it online)

The latest issue of Sustainable Bus magazine is now available online, packed with insightful articles and updates from the world of innovation in public transportation. The magazine, available both in digital format on webreader and on our website sustainable-bus.com, has an average of 20,000 views ...

MAN teams up with Mobileye for autonomous bus development: the first project in 2025

Autonomous bus technology partner unveiled: MAN has entered a cooperation with Intel-owned Mobileye. With the manufacturer recently announcing projects and developments on the topic, one piece of the puzzle was missing: the name of the driverless technology specialist that will be working with MAN i...

Daimler Buses and solid-state batteries: “With new NMC 3 batteries we already have enough energy on board”

Advancements in NMC battery technology make solid-state batteries less requested. “As of today, with developments carried by NMC 2 and the new NMC 3 batteries, we have enough energy on board and the customers’ requirements decide about the offered technology”, stated Adam Kempinski...

Up to £58 million available within 2nd phase of ScotZEB (that expands eligibility to coaches)

The Scottish Government has launched the second phase of the Scottish Zero Emission Bus Challenge Fund (ScotZEB), with up to £58 million available. Introduced in 2021, ScotZEB replaced previous funding streams as a means to encourage the bus industry to find new and innovative ways to finance zero e...

RATP CEO demands compensation and safety guarantees before putting Bluebus e-buses back into service in Paris

The CEO of the RATP, Jean Castex, announced on May 10, 2023, that the 148 electric Bluebus buses of the 5SE series operated by the RATP will only be put back into service when all safety guarantees are met. In April 2022, two Bluebus buses caught fire in Paris, leading to the removal from service [&...

Iveco Bus will showcase the electric version of the Crossway at UITP Summit in Barcelona

Iveco Bus will showcase at UITP Summit in Barcelona the first 100% electric intercity vehicle ever produced by the brand, in a 13-metre version. It’ll be accompanied at the stand by a 9.5m long electric urban midibus from the E-Way range. The intercity e-bus launch is in line with the brand ro...

CAVForth autonomous bus service launched in Scotland with Alexander Dennis Enviro200AV fleet

The Scottish Transport Minister Kevin Stewart has launched the CAVForth autonomous bus service across the Forth Road Bridge near Edinburgh. The project is one of the most ambitious and complex autonomous bus trials worldwide, and is led by Fusion Processing in cooperation with project partners Stage...

Nova Bus secures largest-ever e-bus order in North America: 339 LFSe+ buses for Québec transit agencies

Nova Bus announced it has secured a groundbreaking contract for the largest-ever order of electric buses in North America. The Société de transport de Montréal (STM) acting as agent in collaboration with the Association du transport urbain du Québec (ATUQ) has awarded Nova Bus a base order of 339 LF...

New 500-units zero emission bus tender by Italian Consip. With hydrogen buses, for the first time

Italian central purchasing body Consip has launched a new tender for the supply of 500 electric and hydrogen-powered buses, worth €327 million. The initiative will allow public administrations to acquire the vehicles, using the resources provided by Next Generation EU funds. For the first time also ...

Daimler Buses reported 55% sales growth in Q1 2023 (over 5.5K buses sold)

Daimler Truck has reported a strong start to 2023, with unit sales and revenue significantly above the prior year’s quarter. In Q1 2023, the company sold 125,172 units, a 15% increase from the same period last year, while revenue rose by 25% to €13.2 billion. The bus business is delivering a particu...

Solaris got its largest single order for hydrogen buses from Rostock region, Germany

Rebus Regionalbus Rostock, a transportation company based in Güstrow, Germany, has placed an order for 52 Solaris Urbino hydrogen buses. The order includes five articulated models and represents the largest single order for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles from Solaris to date. The contract, announced on...

ZF unveils next generation e-axle AxTrax 2. Also available in 2-drives variant

At the Advanced Clean Transportation (ACT) Expo, ZF premiered its all-new AxTrax 2 electric axle platform. Series production of AxTrax 2 is planned to begin in Europe in late 2024 and in the U.S. in 2025, ZF states. What is very interesting, it will be offered in two variants: AxTrax 2 with one e-dr...

Yutong to provide 12,000 e-buses in Lagos, Nigeria, in cooperation with energy company OCEL

Oando Clean Energy Limited (OCEL), an energy company based in Nigeria, has kicked off a collaboration with Chinese bus manufacturer Yutong. The partnership aims to deploy 12,000 electric buses and install the necessary infrastructure to support them on Nigerian roads within the next seven years. The...

Rampini’s made in Italy e-buses for Sicily’s energy transition

Rampini’s electric buses will be the standard bearers of the energy transition in Sicily, which has chosen made in Italy to take this much-needed and significant step. The Sicilian Region, in fact, has decided to invest in zero-impact mobility to accelerate the energy transition and has chosen...

Volvo Buses relies on Egyptian MCV to produce ebus for European market

More than a month ago we were telling you about Volvo Buses radical turnaround, announcing the closure of its Wroclaw factory in Poland and its willingness to focus only on chassis production, leaving other companies to build the bodies. Well, today Volvo Buses announces that it has signed a letter ...

Delivery completed for 183 articulated Solaris e-buses in Oslo

183 articulated Solaris Urbino 18.75 electric buses were added to Oslo’s bus fleet on 16th April 2023. Thus, Solaris has completed its largest single order for electric buses so far. The value of the contract, signed in January 2022, is approximately...

European e-bus market gather in Bonn for Omnibusspiegel contest

Imagine seeing a fair representation of the European electric bus market on the road, all together. This is what since a few years (the first edition was in 2017 – the opening picture comes from 2019’s edition) the German specialized magazine Omnibusspiegel is doing with the organization...

Iveco Bus has inaugurated its new assembly plant in South Italy

The big day has arrived. Today, Tuesday 18 April, Iveco Bus is inaugurating the new Foggia plant, in south Italy. Here, in fact, the new lines for the final assembly of high-tech, zero-emission (BEV and FCEV) and low-emission (methane/biomethane and latest-generation diesel/biodiesel) buses will be ...

Spotlight on EU roadmap to zero emission commercial vehicles. REPLAY AVAILABLE

European Commission has proposed the revised version of CO2 regulation for heavy-duty vehicles in February (which requires all new city buses to be zero emission starting in 2030). And this goes along with other well known measures: the Clean Vehicles Directive is in place since 2021, with quot...

Iveco Bus to provide over 1,000 buses in Italy in 2023 (through central purchasing body Consip)

In 2023 Iveco Bus is going to supply over 1,000 new buses through Consip. The Italian central purchasing body has awarded late last year the tender for as many as 1,000 e-buses, with Iveco Bus bidding in six lots out of seven. The E-Way electric buses and the Crossways destined for TUA (Abruzzo) wil...

INIT to showcase next generation of planning, dispatch, telematics, and ticketing system at UITP Summit Barcelona

INIT announces it will be presenting at the UITP Global Transport Summit from June 4 to 7 in Barcelona showcasing a next generation of its integrated planning, dispatch, telematics, and ticketing system MOBILE. UITP Summit will be among the main public transport exhibition in 2023. Ticketing is king...

BYD–Alexander Dennis Enviro400EV fleet with National Express’ livery to exceed 300 in West Midlands

Alexander Dennis and BYD UK electric vehicle partnership has taken a firm order from National Express West Midlands for a further 170 double deck electric buses, to be delivered by the end of 2024. Such investment was already announced by the operator earlier this year. Now it has been announced tha...

2035 E-Mobility Taiwan. Let’s the show begins

2035 E-Mobility Taiwan joined the forces with Taipei AMPA and AutoTronics Taipei for showing to the “electric world” the taiwanese automotive industry ecosystem. This is the first time the three exhibitions have been held concurrently and in the same place, attracting 830 domestic a...

Stagecoach lands order for 170 Volvo/MCV e-buses for Manchester region

Stagecoach has announced plans to introduce 170 electric buses in Stockport (Manchester area): it’s the operator’s largest electric bus order to date. Stagecoach is introducing a further 122 new fully electric buses in key transport networks across the UK in the next 12 months. The elect...

Switch EiV22, the first Indian electric double-decker, delivered in Mumbai and Hyderabad

by Usha Praveen Switch Mobility has launched India’s first iconic double-decker bus Switch EiV22 with fully electric drivetrain (announced in mid 2022). The first set of deliveries (in mid February 2023) is part of the 200 electric double decker buses ordered by Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Tran...

Unexpected turning point in Milan’s 340-units e-bus tender…

Unexpected turning point in Milan’s maxi-tender for 340 electric buses. According to rumours published in the Italian media Autobusweb, in the two main lots (for as many as 310 12-meter and 18-meter e-buses), the only bidders were BYD and Solaris. The latter, today the monopolist of ATM’...

Sales of electric city buses to overtake those of vehicles running on diesel this year, Rabobank study finds

Across the EU, “the sales of electric city buses should overtake those of vehicles running on diesel this year”. It’s the prediction contained in the study “City Buses in the EU: Electricity Is Overtaking Diesel”, by Rabobank, authored by Pablo Ruiz, Gijs Hoogeveen, Erw...

Turin to launch a BRT line and to deploy 315 new electric buses by 2026 within a reorganization of transit network

Over 700 million euros investment in infrastructure, with extension of the metro network with four more stations, two tram lines and 30 kilometres of extra track. Plus, 437 new low and zero emission buses (315 electric buses and 122 CNG-powered) and 70 new trams for a further 380 million euros of in...

SASA Bolzano will deploy 5 CaetanoBus fuel cell buses (marketed in Italy by IIA)

Industria Italiana Autobus has won a lot of the tender issued by SASA Bolzano for five 12-metre fuel cell buses, worth 3 million euros. IIA will provide the vehicles within the commercial agreement signed last year with Caetano-Toyota. SASA has already in operation a batch of 12 Solaris Urbino hydro...

VDL has refurbished a fleet of 6-years old e-buses with new batteries in Eindhoven

VDL has completed Europe’s first large-scale battery refurbishment project, fitting 43 buses operated by Hermes, part of Transdev Netherlands, with completely new and much larger battery packs (from 180 to 350 kWh). The refurbishment project increased the range of the e-buses by replacing the ...

Ebusco financial results 2022 published. The company is looking for an assembly partner

Ebusco has published its financial results 2022. Data shows a EBITDA loss of €34.8 million “due to the ramp up and supply chain related production inefficiencies” and a net loss for the year of €32.2 million. On the other hand, revenue increased by 360% to €111.6 million “despite d...

Over 1,000 further e-buses funded in Germany. Funding certificates handed over to 59 PTOs

German Federal Ministry of Transport has handed over today funding certificates for 59 transport companies (and around 1,033 electric buses) at VDV e-bus conference ElekBu 2023. From 2021 until today, there has been two so-called “calls” issued by the Federal ministry. They are part of G...

ElekBu 2023: the German expo for e-buses keeps growing

1,200 attendees (with many others in the waiting list), 78 exhibitors, 18 e-buses, 5,000 m2 of exhibition area. These are the main figures of ElekBu 2023 by VDV, on 27 and 28 March in Berlin. The German Federal Minister of Transport, Volker Wissing, is expected to attend and present funding certific...

8,500 e-buses will be operating in Germany in 2030, according to PwC forecast

1,884 buses with zero-emission and electrified drives were operating on Germany’s roads as of 31st December 2022: 620 more than in 2021, an increase of almost 50 percent. The milestone of 2,000 e-buses will thus soon be reached. However, they cover a share of just 3.5 percent. Between 2017 and...

Daimler Buses launches new series Setra MultiClass 500 LE. With weight savings, hybrid module, one more length

Daimler Buses has launched a newly developed Setra MultiClass 500 LE. Shortly after the premiere of the next generation of the Setra ComfortClass 500 and TopClass 500 touring coaches, Setra is opening a new chapter in the intercity segment. The new model series features the second generation of Pred...

First Bus to convert Leicester site into fully electrified bus depot on the way to deploy 86 e-buses in the city

First Bus‘ depot in Leicester is set to become one of the UK’s first electrified bus depots outside of London. The operator has announced that Leicester site will join York and Norwich. Therefore, First Bus will have three fully electrified bus depots outside of the capital. What is more, this...

ACEA figures on 2022 bus & coach market in EU: 12.7% of the registrations is made of e-buses

Diesel bus registrations fell in Europe by 7.8% in 2022, while ‘electrically-chargeable’ bus sales increased by 13.7% to reach 3,505 units (up from 10.6% in 2021), accounting for 12.7% of the total EU bus market, based on ACEA figures. Diesel bus registrations were 18,500 in 2022, accord...

Early generation e-bus updated by Equipmake: the first Optare Versa is back on service in York

After complete upgrade of the vehicle’s electric power system, the first Optare Versa is back on service around the city of York. It belong to an early generation electric bus: a batch of 12 vehicles is to be converted in a contract awarded by operator First Bus to Equipmake. The bus now features a ...

Volvo Buses to end production of complete buses and coaches in Europe

Volvo Buses has announced that it will be ending production of complete buses and coaches in Europe as part of a new business model aimed at improving profitability and securing its long-term competitiveness. Wroclaw plant, where also electric buses are built, will be closed in Q1 2024. The manufact...

350 e-buses will be deployed by VHH in Hamburg: 100 MAN and 250 Mercedes eCitaro

In the largest e-bus tender in the company’s history to date, Verkehrsbetriebe Hamburg-Holstein GmbH (VHH) has awarded MAN Truck & Bus and Daimler Buses two framework agreements for 100 and 250 e-buses respectively. This will more than quadruple VHH’s total e-bus fleet. The first new...

VHH orders 48 e-buses from MAN (out of a 100-units framework agreement)

VHH is ordering up to to 100 electric buses from MAN Truck & Bus for operations in Hamburg. With the framework agreement for the delivery of the Lion’s City 12 E, MAN was able to win four of eight lots in VHH’s current e-bus tender, the manufacturer states. VHH orders up to 100 e-bus...

Where are funding for European fuel cell buses coming from?

While being very much a minority of the market (99 units registered in Europe in 2022), sales of fuel cell buses in Europe are in a way a similar story to those of battery-electric buses: much lower than the sales levels in China, but well ahead of most other regions. Hydrogen buses are attractive t...

Solaris releases 2022 results and announces improved version of the Urbino 18 Electric to be launched this year

1,492 buses sold (401 are battery-electric vehicles), revenues at € 696 million (with 3% decrease compared to the 721 million generated in 2021), deliveries in 18 countries. These are, in a nutshell, Solaris 2022 results, disclosed this morning during a press conference. During the digital event, So...

Further 41 Yutong e-buses delivered by Pelican to McGill’s Bus

Yutong UY dealer Pelican announces it has completed deliveries of a further 41 Yutong zero emission vehicles to McGill’s Bus Group. This second tranche of vehicles increases the Yutong fleet in McGill’s to 96 vehicles, after 55 were delivered prior to COP 26 in November 2021. It should be mentioned ...

Barbaros Oktay appointed Head of Bus within MAN bus business reorganization

MAN restructures its bus business. In the newly created role of “Head of Bus” (HoB), Barbaros Oktay will assume overall entrepreneurial responsibility for the bus unit. “He will report directly to MAN CEO Alexander Vlaskamp and will have direct organisational responsibility for man...

TPER Bologna has published a tender for 127 fuel cell buses (with option for further 140)

The tender for the purchase of 127 fuel cell buses in Bologna and Ferrara area (with option for further 140 vehicles) has been published in the Official Journal of the European Union. Municipal operator TPER, in agreement with the Municipality and Metropolitan City of Bologna, aims to achieve zero e...

UK funding streams for zero emission buses, well explained

A combination of government funds with investment from local authorities and operators is the UK’s approach to the zero emissions transition. However, ensuring patronage is the key to long term viability

China: new energy bus sales went down 15% in January 2023, new report says

China: in January 2023, the registration of new energy commercial vehicles experienced a decline of 19% from the same period last year. This marked the first year-on-year drop since February 2021 (and follows a records-beating December 2022). Figures and considerations are reported in a paper by Int...

15 e-buses for Regiobus in Hanover. They’re eCitaro

Regiobus has ordered 15 battery-electric buses, thus beginning the transition of the fleet towards zero emission technology. The operator has turned to EvoBus and is then going to deploy 15 units of Mercedes eCitaro. Since 2020, regiobus has exclusively procured so-called mild hybrid buses; in paral...

First Bus to deploy another 117 Wrightbus-made e-buses thanks to ZEBRA fundings

The British government has announced a £25.3 million investment to rollout an extra 117 zero emission buses in four regions across the country – Yorkshire, Norfolk, Portsmouth and Hampshire. They’ll be manufactured in Northern Ireland by Wrightbus and operated by First Bus. The latter ha...

Bodyshells in Czech Republic, e-buses in Mannheim, coaches in Neu-Ulm. The agreement between Daimler Buses and works council

Competition on the e-bus market pushes Daimler Buses to cut costs. Body shells production goes in Czech Republic, e-buses stays in Mannheim and coaches (plus intercity e-vehicles still to come) in Neu-Ulm. Agreement just reached between the Management of Daimler Buses and the General Works Council o...

Further Ebusco buses procured by Svealandstrafiken. Now also for regional operations

Ebusco has signed a new contract with Svealandstrafiken, Sweden, for a total of up to 64 buses. The contract comprises 23 Ebusco 3.0 13.5-meter Class II buses, to be delivered in the second half of 2024, and an option to purchase 41 additional buses. With this order, Svealandstrafiken is Ebusco&#821...

Mexico City introduces 50 new e-buses with support from ZEBRA

This piece was originally published on c40.org On February 20th a fleet of 50 new articulated electric buses were formally incorporated into Line 3 of Mexico City’s public transport system. The city’s transport authority, Metrobús, is a decentralised public entity managing the bus rapid transit...

South Korea, from Hyundai 700 hydrogen buses to Incheon

The South Korean city of Incheon, located near the capital Seoul, plans to introduce a total of 700 hydrogen fuel cell (H2) buses on the roads by the end of 2024. A total of 200 of these H2 buses will be put into operation this year, and the rest next year. South Korea’s ministries of [&hellip...

Arriva wins €300M bus and rail contract in the Netherlands. 100 zero emission buses to be deployed

Arriva Group has been awarded the Twente-ZHO concession in East Netherlands for both bus and rail services. The concession is part of the province of Overijssel, following a competitive tender process. Contract have been awarded for four years, plus one year option to extend. Lifespan of contract is...

Robert Katzer takes over Rudi Kuchta’s position at the helm of MAN global bus business

Change at the helm of the bus business of MAN Truck & Bus, reported on German media Bus Blickpunkt: starting from March 1st, Robert Katzer, previously Managing Director of MAN Truck & Bus in Austria, takes over the leadership position in global bus sales from Rudi Kuchta, who in turn takes o...

Düsseldorf will deploy 20 fuel cell buses (with public utilities company building electrolyzer)

Düsseldorf has set the goal of become climate neutral by 2035. To this end, the city’s public utilities company Stadtwerke Düsseldorf and public transportation company Rheinbahn are investing in hydrogen technology, together with battery-electric mobility. The starting point for the joint comm...

Use of toxic chemical prompts Hino Motors to cancel sales of BYD’s e-bus in Japan

BYD’s plan to supply a small electric bus (Poncho Z EV) to Hino Motors, a Toyota unit, has been cancelled after it was revealed that the bus was built using a toxic chemical that is banned under Japanese industry guidelines, according to an article by Nikkei Asia. The vehicles was planned to be supp...

CUTZEB is the zero emission bus joint procurement initiative launched in Canada

CUTRIC, the Canadian Urban Transit Research & Innovation Consortium, has announced the launch of CUTZEB, the Canadian Urban Transit Zero Emissions Bus joint procurement initiative. The Government of Canada has set a target of having 5,000 zero-emission buses on the roads by 2026. The aim of this...

Public transport exhibitions 2023 in Europe: waiting for UITP Summit and Busworld in Brussels

Public transport exhibitions 2023, we’re off! A 2022 punctuated by predominantly national fairs (with the exception of IAA and InnoTrans) has given way to a 2023 that sees two highly respectable events firmly set on the calendar. In June, the UITP Global Public Transport Summit 2023 will take ...

138K electric buses sold in China in 2022. Small-sized buses grew 183%

Sales of new energy buses and trucks in China reached an all-time high of 238,000 units in 2022, an increase of 90% compared to the previous year, according to an article by Shirly Zhu, principal analyst at Interact Analysis. This growth was largely driven by the new energy bus market, which made up...

Up to 60 fuel cell buses in delivery by 2026. Deutsche Bahn has signed framework agreement with CaetanoBus

Deutsche Bahn has signed a framework agreement with Portuguese manufacturer Caetanobus for 60 fuel cell buses on delivery by 2026. First vehicles are set to run for DB Regio Bus in Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein in a year’s time. Behind the order is “DB’s clear goal of phasing...

Iveco Bus won a tender for 120 electric buses in Italy for carrier Autoguidovie

Iveco Bus has been awarded a tender for 120 electric buses issued by Autoguidovie, the largest Italian privately owned local public transport company. Iveco Bus is also among the four bidders at the 340-units e-bus tender by ATM Milano and will provide 150 e-buses to Italian carrier Busitalia starti...

Flix tenth anniversary: EBITDA profitability achieved in 2022 (with 60 millions passengers traveling)

Ten years since the foundation, 300 million passengers transported, 41 countries connected, 2022 revenue of more than € 1.5 billion on a global scale and the achievement of profitability at the EBITDA level. This is the 2022 snapshot of Flix (a group under which the FlixBus brand as well as the rail...

EU Commission proposes all new city buses to be zero emission starting in 2030

European Commission has today proposed new CO2 emissions targets for new heavy-duty vehicles (HDVs) from 2030 onwards. “To stimulate faster deployment of zero-emission buses in cities”, the Commission proposes to make all new city buses zero-emission as of 2030. Concerning all new heavy-...

Sustainable Bus magazine 2023 #1 is out. Check out the new issue!

Printed in early February, already brought “on assignment” at Busworld North America, shipped to a batch of the most important public transport operators in Europe, ready to be in distribution at ElekBu in Germany next month. Besides this, of course Sustainable Bus magazine February 2023...

BYD, Iveco Bus, Industria Italiana Autobus, Solaris: four bidders for the 340-units e-bus tender in Milan

BYD, Iveco Bus, Industria Italiana Autobus, Solaris: four bidders for the 340-units electric bus tender issued by ATM Milano in November 2022. The news is reported on Italian trade media Autobusweb. As of summer 2022, there were some 170 electric buses in operation in Milan, with the target of reach...

Electric bus market Europe 2022, all the figures. Guess the leaders!

Yutong has ranked first in the electric bus market 2022 in Europe. Quite surprisingly, it must be said. Nothing new in second and third position, where we find the joint venture Alexander Dennis/BYD and Daimler Buses. Iveco Bus and VDL grow, Solaris lags behind after two years at the helm of the ele...

EMT Madrid launches a BRT. 10 Irizar ie tram on a line with traffic light priority

EMT Madrid has launched a new BRT line, operated via electric buses, that will connect the Valdebebas and Sanchinarro districts with the Ramón y Cajal Hospital via a segregated lane and, for the first time, with traffic light priority. The BRT line will allow a 30-minute connection between the two e...

17 per cent of ALSA buses run on alternative fuel

Today 17 per cent of ALSA buses run on alternative fuel, as explained by Miguel Angel Alonso, ALSA’s Director of Engineering and European Funds, in a story published on IRU website. The goal of the Spain-based company, with operations in Morocco, Portugal, Switzerland, and France, is to operat...

Busworld North America is underway. With ABC, MCI, Daimler Coaches, Prevost, Temsa, BYD in the forefront

Busworld North America‘s doors were opened on Saturday 4th Februrary in Detroit. It’s the first edition of a new format realized in cooperation with the motorcoach operators’ association American Bus Association (ABA), whose marketplace is taking place together with the exposition....

66 per cent growth for US electric bus market in 2022, according to CALSTART

The US e-bus market experienced a 66% increase since 2021. As of September 2022, the total count of full-size battery-electric and fuel-cell electric transit buses has reached 5,480 (it was 3,297 in 2021). The data is reported on CALSTART Zeroing in on ZEBs annual report, that provides an updated in...

Oxford Bus Company orders 104 Wrightbus e-buses. It’s the largest e-bus deal ever for Go-Ahead group

Oxford Bus Company (Go-Ahead group) orders 104 battery-electric buses with Wrightbus. They’ll be part of a 159-strong zero emission fleet on Oxford’s streets from late 2023. In the same region, Stagecoach has just announced a 55-units e-bus order with Alexander Dennis. The deal is Go-Ahead’s b...

Autonomous bus trial CAVForth is set to be expanded with upgraded bus features and longer route

Alexander Dennis will continue development of autonomous bus technology in the CAVForth2 project, that will see Stagecoach, the UK’s largest bus operator, extend the route of the existing CAVForth autonomous bus service from Edinburgh Park station to Dunfermline city center, using a new upgrad...

632 zero emission buses registered in Germany in 2022 (7% growth). Mercedes leads the market

632 zero emission buses were registered in Germany in 2022 (+7%): the country places on the second place in Europe (but at the forefront in EU), as only UK made better with 696 new e-bus and fuel cell bus registrations, according to figures by Chatrou CME Solutions and anticipated by German media Om...

Iveco Bus to provide 65 e-buses in Belgium for De Lijn

Iveco Bus has announced that it has signed a framework agreement with De Lijn, a government-owned public transport group in Flanders, for the sale of a first batch of 65 E-Way full electric city buses and “additional batches up to a total of 500 vehicles”, as the manufacturer puts it. In...

Sustainable Bus Tour 2023. In the agenda: EU policy framework, energy transition in the Americas, on-demand transportation

The 3rd edition of the Sustainable Bus Tour is set to begin in May. It’ll consist on trio of webinars focusing on a series of key topics such as the new European policy framework for CO2 reduction from heavy-duty vehicles, the process of decarbonization of bus fleets in Latin and North America...

First Bus has launched UK’s first zero emission autonomous bus service

First Bus has launched an autonomous bus service in Milton Park business, science and technology park near Didcot and Abingdon, Oxfordshire. The service started on Monday 23th January 2023. The service will improve the way people move both around the park, which is home to 250 companies and 9,000 em...

Four EU member states call for end date of sale of combustion engine trucks and buses

The Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark and Luxembourg have urged the European Union to fix a date by which new trucks and buses sold in Europe must have zero emissions, according to a joint statement from the countries reported Reuters. This call comes ahead of the proposal of stricter CO2 emission stand...

31 new fuel cell buses for RVK. Wesseling to be served only by hydrogen vehicles (Solaris-made)

The German town of Wesseling has taken a significant step towards a cleaner and greener future by introducing fuel cell buses into its public transportation system. The Regionalverkehr Köln GmbH (RVK), the local public transportation company, now operates in the town exclusively with these hydrogen ...

EBS has awarded 193 e-buses to VDL for the Dutch Zaanstreek-Waterland concession

EBS has no intention to make a bad impressione when it’ll take the reins of the newly formed Zaanstreek-Waterland concession in December 2023. The operator (from Egged group) is indeed procuring as many as 193 new-generation VDL Citea. They’ll be delivered starting in September 2023. For...

“Next Stop” by Sustainable Bus: from Friday, a second weekly newsletter enhancing our media’s offer

Since the launch in 2018, Sustainable Bus has been putting lots of focus and efforts in telling about evolution and innovation in the alternative drive bus segment (nomen omen). The concept behind this is that we’d like our readers to feel ‘at home’ while visiting our pages. Putting a spotlight on a...

Clermont-Ferrand in France turns to flash charging for the electrification of its two busiest lines (with Hess and Hitachi Energy)

Hitachi Energy has won an order to supply its Grid-eMotion Flash ultrafast charging system (formerly know as TOSA and launched in 2013 in Geneva) for the two busiest bus routes in the city of Clermont-Ferrand, central France. The city’s public transportation operator, SMTC-AC, will benefit from...

Iveco Bus will supply 150 E-Way to Busitalia: first deliveries by July

Job order with a capital “c” for Iveco Bus in Italy. The manufacturer, in fact, has been awarded the supply for Busitalia of one hundred and fifty electric urban buses: this is the largest order of E-Way city buses received to date by the company. The buses are scheduled to be delivered ...

The autonomous mover by Benteler Holon carries the signatures of Pininfarina and Mobileye. The launch at CES 2023

The Benteler brand Holon presented its driverless shuttle for the first time at CES 2023 in Las Vegas. It features design by Pininfarina and sees Beep and Mobileye as development partners. The vehicle is claimed to be “the world’s first autonomous mover built to automotive standards&#822...

Six new Skoda trolleybuses for the streets of Prešov

The city of Prešov, Slovakia, will soon be able to count on six new trolleybuses signed Škoda: the 18-meter-long vehicles will complement the winged arrow’s fleet of 25 trolley buses delivered in recent years under a contract signed in 2016. Specifically, these are trolleybuses of the Škoda 27...

Canada, Winnipeg gets zero emission buses from New Flyer

New Flyer has received new firm orders for 16 battery-electric and fuel cell-electric transit buses from Winnipeg Transit (the manufacturer has its headquarter in the same Canadian city). The contract also has options to be extended for up to four years to purchase up to 150 40-foot zero-emission bu...

Javier Iriarte replaces Javier Calleja as CEO of Solaris Bus & Coach

Javier Iriarte has been appointed CEO at Solaris Bus & Coach. He has been the Vice-Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Solaris since 2018, as well as the responsible for strategic development and transformation of Solaris. The important change at the helm has been announced today January 2nd 20...

Follow-up order for DD e-buses from Alexander Dennis in Manchester

Transport for Greater Manchester has ordered a further 50 zero-emission double deck buses from Alexander Dennis, doubling the total on order for the franchised Bee Network bus system to 100. The additional 50 British-built electric buses will enter service in parts of Bury, Rochdale and Oldham when ...

Bucharest tender for 100 e-buses and 100 trolleys goes to Karsan and Solaris

Karsan is set to supply 100 electric buses in Bucharest. They will join the city public transport fleet along with a batch of 100 12-meter trolleybuses. This was announced by mayor Nicusor Dan announced on December 19, as reported on Romania Insider and covered by Electrive. Karsan to deliver electr...

Regular electric bus vs full composite bus: the comparison (Ebusco 2.2 vs 3.0)

Almost one year ago, the first Ebusco 3.0 was taken into operation in Munich, Germany. “A groundbreaking lightweight electric bus that would break all boundaries of electric driving”: this is how the manufactures defines this model. Since an electric bus’s weight greatly impacts its perf...

Gillig electric bus scores 89.5/100 at Altoona tests

Gillig claims that they “received the highest-ever score for a battery electric bus tested at Altoona, with a total score of 89.5”. The Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) Bus Test Program, conducted by the Larson Transportation Institute’s Bus Research and Testing Center ...

Banks’ reluctancy in lending to e-bus makers places Indian e-bus ambitions at risk, Reuters says

“Indian banks are reluctant to lend to electric-bus makers”, Reutes reports, based on banking, industry and government sources. The issue is due to “concerns on recovery of dues”. The consequences are easy to guess: “The lack of funding is limiting the ability of e-bus ...

EBRD lends up to €10 million to Pristina’s operator for 30 new buses (including the first 6 e-buses in Kosovo)

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing a senior loan of up to €10 million under the Green Cities framework to Pristina (Kosovo). The loan will be extended to Trafiku Urban, Pristina’s municipal transport company and largest bus operator. It will be used to...

Ebusco unveils 3.0 model in articulated version (and announces dedicated production line in 2023)

Today the Ebusco 3.0 model is launched in articulated version, claiming a range of up to 700 km thanks to maximum battery capacity over 500 kWh and lightweight design thanks of use of composites. The Ebusco 3.0 18-meter with a starting weight of 14,500 kg. Maximum passenger capacity? 150 passengers....

Go-Ahead: 55% of UK residents more likely to travel by bus in case of zero emission buses available

A survey realized for Go-Ahead’s Zero Emission Centre of Excellence found that 55% of customers would be more likely to travel by bus if they knew that a zero emission bus was available. The Centre has recently started its activities. Based in London, brings together expertise from Go-Ahead’s bus co...

Battery pack prices increased by 7% from 2021 to 2022, according to BloombergNEF

No, it’s not an unexpected news. At all. But BloombergNEF is now outlining some precise figures on it. In its annual battery price survey the consultancy indeed found that lithium-ion battery pack prices increased by 7% from 2021 to 2022, up to $151/kWh. It’s presented as “the firs...

Unibuss orders 76 e-buses from MAN for operations in Oslo (they’ll be the first Lion’s City E in Norway)

Norwegian transport operator Unibuss has ordered 76 Lion’s City E from MAN Truck & Bus – including 59 solo and 17 articulated buses. It’s the very first e-bus order for MAN from Norway and marks one of the first order with battery size adjusted on the customer’s needs (at...

Switch Mobility: the importance of the Indian market and the strategies in Europe. Interview with Peter Freedman

by Alex Byles Switch Mobility‘s strategies on the European markets, product development, opportunities and potential of the Indian market are just some of the topic of this interview. After having unveiled, at European Mobility Expo 2022 in Paris, its e1 electric bus model for the European mar...

Bologna to have 127 fuel cell buses in operation by mid-2026. An investment of 90 million euros

Bologna is launching one of the largest fuel cell bus projects in Europe so far, with 127 units expected to be in operation by mid-2026 (34 to arrive by 2024). An agreement has been signed to this extent between Bologna City Council, public transport operator TPER and Srm. An investment of over 90 m...

900 e-buses deployed by Mowasalat during the FIFA World Cup. Our experience in Doha

Around 900 e-buses are in operation under the livery of Qatar public transport company Mowasalat during the World Cup. We had the opportunity to visit the facilities and having a closer look at the operations thanks to an invitation by Chinese manufacturer Yutong, provider of most of the vehicles. B...

*REPLAY AVAILABLE* for the webinar “MaaS and the future of urban mobility” broadcasted on December 6th

Smart ticketing. Contactless paying. Dematerialized ticketing. Seamless mobility. Intermodal travels. In one acronym: MaaS, i.e. Mobility as a Service. In broader sense: increasing the appeal of public transport by making traveling on buses, trams, trains and shared mobility vehicles easier. Yes, bu...

Tender, Consip: the pretenders to the “electric” title in Italy

Consip has made public the tenders submitted for the supply of 1,000 electric-powered buses with plug-in charging technology and pantograph, with a total value of more than 660 million euros. The initiative will enable public administrations to acquire the vehicles, taking advantage of resources und...

Irizar wins an electric bus contract in Cracow (the first time in Poland)

First contract in Poland for Irizar e-mobility, in a city where Solaris Urbino electric buses have so far the monopoly (a new contract for 18 units was landed lately). The Spanish company announces it has signed a contract with the Polish operator MPK Krakow to supply four 100% electric zero-emissio...

Ebusco e-buses on BRT in Rouen. Manufacturer receives confirmation for 76-units order of 3.0 model

The French city of Rouen is going to deploy Ebusco 3.0 articulated e-buses on a BRT. Ebusco announces it has received confirmation that the option of 76 Ebusco 3.0 18-meter buses for Métropole Rouen Normandie is converted into a fixed order. Out of the 76 buses, 28 will be delivered by the end of 20...

Keolis wins two contract extensions for e-buses in the Netherlands and Denmark (24 e-buses to be added)

Keolis has been awarded two contract extensions in Northern Europe featuring the integration of new electric buses.  Being more specific, the Dutch public transport authority Province of Utrecht has awarded Keolis a two-year contract extension to operate and maintain its bus network in the Utre...

First 50 e-buses are operating in Coventry on the way to the establishment of UK first all-electric bus city

A first batch of 50 e-buses (out of the 130 units order) have started service in Coventry, in the framework of UK plan for the first all-electric bus city. 300 e-buses are set to be in operation by 2025, 130 have been commissioned to Alexander Dennis in early 2022. The city already had 10 all-electr...

Further 64 BYD e-buses headed to Norway

BYD has been awarded a substantial order for electric buses from public transport operator Nobina in Norway. The order, placed by Nobina Fleet Norge AS, is for a total of 64 BYD eBuses, with delivery to Norway in Q2 2023. The order comprises 40 units of 12-metre low-floor BYD eBuses and 24 units of ...

In Denmark 3 out of 4 newly registered buses are electric

Three quarters of all new full-size buses registered in Denmark in the first ten months of 2022 are electric buses (308 units out of 408: precisely 75%). The news come from the local specialized magazine Bussmagasinet. “The majority of these e-buses are supplied by Chinese companies. Volvo and...

What we have seen at Euro Bus Expo 2022

by Alex Byles From 1 to 3 November at Birmingham’s NEC in the UK, Euro Bus Expo 2022 made its return. With over 200 exhibitors and 80-plus vehicles on display, there was a host of product launches and technology announcements. We summarise the show’s pressing developments. Presenting a variety of pr...

In Milan there are 340 electric buses up for grabs

A new call for tenders in the name of e-mobility has been issued by ATM Milano, which has set 2030 as the ‘X’ date for having a 100 per cent electric fleet. The news is reported on Italian specialized media Autobusweb. In view of this date and this goal, the Azienda Trasporti Milanesi ha...

MAN to cut 860 jobs at its e-bus production plant Starachowice in Poland

MAN is going to cut 860 jobs at its Starachowice plant in Poland, where the electric bus range Lion’s City E is built. The news is covered on the German media Busblickpunkt and was first reported on infoPOL.PRESS. The group invested some 27 million euros to implement e-bus production there. Th...

The EU Commission’s proposal on Euro VII. Investments on ICEs will impact on energy transition, ACEA says

The targets set for 2035 are a 35% reduction in nitrogen oxides (NOx) compared to Euro 6 and a 56% reduction compared to Euro VI for trucks and buses. A reduction in particulate matter (PM) emissions in the order of 13% from cars and vans and 39% from buses and lorries is also targeted. This, [&hell...

The first Hess 24-meter e-bus landed in Basel. It’s the first of 8-units order from BVB

Yesterday, the first of a total of eight new electric double-articulated buses from Hess was delivered at the temporary bus station of BVB in Klybeck. The bus will run on line 50 to EuroAirport from mid-January 2023. The manufacturer has made it public through its Linkedin channel. The first lighTra...

New study in Santiago, Chile shows that electric buses have lower TCO than diesel

Below, a contribution from ZEBRA (Zero Emission Bus Rapid-deployment Accelerator), a partnership led by C40 Cities and the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), with funding from P4G. This international alliance works to support the deployment of over 3,000 electr...

45 MAN Lion’s City E are on their way to Copenhagen

Beside the order for 31 Mercedes eCitaro announced in early November, Danish operator Vikingbus has also landed an order for 45 MAN Lion’s City 12 E. They’ll be deployed on routes in Greater Copenhagen. Deliveries are set to happen from spring 2023. Movia’s 21st tender for bus rout...

Translink launches a national account-based ticketing system covering Northern Ireland (with Flowbird technology)

Translink has rolled out a national account-based ticketing (ABT) system covering Northern Ireland. Passengers using the Translink Metro bus network in Belfast are benefiting from contactless payment technology as part of the operator’s Future Ticketing System, which has been developed in partnershi...

The New Routemaster has been repowered by Equipmake and is now on trials in London for Metroline

Equipmake showcased at Euro Bus Expo a zero-emission repowered version of the New Routemaster double-decker bus. This process sees its hybrid drivetrain completely replaced with Equipmake’s Zero Emission Drivetrain (ZED), which uses 95% British-built component content. The repowered New Routemaster,...

Wiener Linien to cover 9 routes with eCitaro buses by end 2025. 60 units ordered

By the end of 2025, Wiener Linien will convert nine of its 127 routes to operation with the battery-electric bus Mercedes eCitaro. In fact, the operator has just announced an order for 60 eCitaro buses. The vehicles will be delivered from next year until 2025. In summer 2022 Austrian government anno...

31 eCitaro ordered by Vikingbus in Denmark. They’ll be deployed on the longest city bus line in Denmark

The Danish bus company Vikingbus has ordered 31 Mercedes eCitaro buses. In future, they will mainly be used in Køge, a harbor town south of the Danish capital Copenhagen in the east of the island of Sjӕlland. The city buses are planned to go into operation at the turn of the year 2023/2024. Mercedes...

Alexander Dennis announces Voith and Impact as driveline and battery partners for in-house electric and H2 bus range

Alexander Dennis today shared an exclusive preview of its next generation of in-house battery-electric buses at Euro Bus Expo 2022 in Birmingham. The first models will be the Enviro400EV double decker and a new-size midibus, the Enviro100EV. Initial orders have been taken and first vehicles are expe...

‘Energy transition out of city centers’: VIDEO AVAILABLE for the web event featuring Busworld, Transdev, Arriva, Flixbus, Iveco Bus, Twaice, ChargePoint

On Friday 28th October we have organized the web event ‘Energy transition out of city center‘, part of the second edition of the Sustainable Bus Tour. Reason of such a topic is simple : in the public transport world, out of cities the commitment to energy transition goes along with quest...

Largest e-bus depot inaugurated in Qatar. There’s room for 478 vehicles from Yutong

World’s largest e-bus depot was inaugurated in Qatar in late October. The depot is located in Lusail, covers an area of more than 400,000 square meters and is composed of 24 multi-functional buildings. It has won the Guinness World Record for the world’s largest electric bus depot with the cap...

London first fast-charged bus route to be electrified by Irizar e-mobility – Go Ahead 

Irizar e-mobility and Go Ahead London have signed a contract to supply 20 buses and related charging infrastructure to electrify route 358 in south London, the first ultra-fast opportunity charging route in the capital. Chargers are to be provided by Jema Energy (Irizar Group). One year ago Mayor of...

Poznan invests in fuel cell buses: 25 vehicles ordered to Solaris

Poznan public transport operator MPK Poznań has purchased 25 hydrogen-fuelled buses that will be supplied by Solaris Bus & Coach, whose headquarters are close to the Polish city. The tender was for 15 vehicles, but the carrier exercised its option of extending the order by another 10 buses. Thes...

11 European cities ask the EU to make purchase of zero emission buses mandatory from 2027

11 European cities ask the EU to make purchase of zero emission buses for public transport mandatory from 2027. “Without action at EU level, demand for zero emission urban buses will not be matched by supply“, they wrote in a letter sent to the EU Commission on 24th October. They add: &#...

Further 12 Solaris e-buses in the domestic market. MZK Opole to receive the e-fleet from mid-2023

On 19 October, Solaris Bus & Coach entered into a contract with the public transport operator Miejski Zakład Komunikacyjny in the city of Opole (Poland) to supply eight e-buses, including six 12-meter and two 18-meter vehicles, as well as to deliver and install charging infrastructure. Miejski Z...

Towards the web event “Energy transition out of city centers”. Save the date for 28th October!

Are batteries going to allow long distance operations without compromising passenger or luggage capacity? Is CNG a viable solution in the long term? What about LNG? How long should we expect before hydrogen becomes a feasible (and affordable) technology for coaches? These are all answ...

What have we seen at FIAA in Madrid?

The 2022 edition of FIAA kicked off today in Madrid, five years after the previous one. The absence of local body builders (and some leading manufacturers) certainly has an impact on an event that nevertheless remains crucial for a market, such as the Spanish one, of no small importance. And the nov...

Iveco Bus launches Crossway Low Entry Hybrid at FIAA in Madrid

Iveco Bus has launched today its new Crossway Low Entry Hybrid at FIAA in Madrid. The vehicle is available in XTL (X-To-Liquid) renewable fuel and Natural Gas versions. The new Crossway LE Hybrid, currently available as Class I for city uses and Class II for suburban.The model displayed in Madrid is...

RNV orders up to 75 eCitaro with fuel cell range extender. A new depot to be built in Heidelberg

Second order achieved for the Mercedes eCitaro Range Extender, the fuel cell bus from Daimler Truck. Verkehrsbetriebe Rhein-Neckar-Verkehr GmbH (RNV), headquartered in Mannheim, is accelerating its transformation to electromobility. Delivery of 40 eCitaro G vehicles with range extenders in 2023 and ...

CaetanoBus and UNVI to launch a jointly-built electric bus for the Spanish market at FIAA

CaetanoBus and UNVI has entered a cooperation aimed at providing electric bus models for the Spanish market. First outcome of the deal will be the Caetano UNVI C21 bus, to be presented at FIAA Madrid (18-21 October). The 12-meters electric urban bus features e.chassis from Caetano and body from UNVI...

What have we seen at Next Mobility Exhibition?

It opened its doors on Wednesday 12 October and will close today, Friday 14, the first edition of Next Mobility Exhibition, the trade fair on sustainable mobility, organised in the premises of Fieramilano Rho. Fifteen manufacturers attended as exhibitors (110 companies in total). Proceeding in rando...

Karsan, Iveco and Irizar win the Sustainable Bus Awards 2023

Winners have been elected for Sustainable Bus Awards 2023. The international jury composed of European trade magazines has today announced that Karsan e-ATA 12, Iveco Bus Crossway LE Hybrid CNG and Irizar i6S Efficient have won the sixth edition of the prize. The trophies were received by Okan Baş, ...

Iveco Bus to start battery production in Turin next week (and launches cooperation with Via)

From next week Iveco Bus (through sister company FPT and partner Microvast) will start producing bus batteries in Turin, while from April 2023 next-generation bus production will begin at a new plant in Foggia, Italy. The announcement was made this morning at the Next Mobility Exhibition, as reporte...

Rampini turns to Loop Energy as fuel cell provider. The Hydron displayed at Milan’s NME

Loop Energy, a designer and manufacturer of hydrogen fuel cells for commercial mobility, joins Italian bus manufacturer Rampini in unveiling its first hydrogen-electric bus, the Hydron, at the Next Mobility Exhibition in Milan, Italy, today. Rampini is the third Loop Energy customer to launch a fuel...

«A platform ready for the future». Goal: 800 to 1,000 new VDL Citea per year. Interview with Alex De Jong

New markets in the spotlight, a product with lots of technical innovations, a straight focus on electrification of public transport. Alex De Jong, Business Manager Public Transport at VDL Bus & Coach, answers some questions from Sustainable Bus in the framework of the launch of the Citea New Gen...

Fuel cell buses for Italy: CaetanoBus teams up with Industria Italiana Autobus (that will produce H2 buses starting in 2024)

CaetanoBus and Industria Italiana Autobus (IIA) have signed an agreement to start the production and marketing in Italy of hydrogen-powered city buses based on Toyota Fuel Cell technology and an H2.City Power Kit system developed by CaetanoBus. According to this agreement, by the end of 2022, IIA wi...

Equipmake to repower 12 e-buses in York for First Bus

First Bus is partnering with Equipmake to repower 12 of the operator’s first-generation electric buses in York. Therefore, 12 First York electric Optare Versa buses are going to be repowered with Equipmake electric drivetrain (ZED) at the company’s base in Snetterton, Norfolk. Equipmake expects each...

Next European ZEB Conference at Busworld Europe 2023 (with special focus on coaches)

Next edition of the European Zero Emission Bus (ZEB) Conference will be organised concurrently with the Busworld Europe from 9 to 12 October 2023 in Brussels, Belgium. ERM Group company, Element Energy, organiser of this conference, is partnering with Busworld Foundation. New in this edition will be...

Solaris opens new warehouse hall and charging park for e-vehicles in Bolechowo

Solaris inaugurated its new Warehouse Hall and an innovative Charging Park for e-vehicles on 29 September. The first consists in 10,000 m2 equipped with cutting-edge logistics systems and solutions, the second is a unique charging station for e-vehicles. These two latest investments by Solaris were ...

Karsan wins tender for up to 31 articulated e-buses in Bologna, Italy

Karsan has won the tender for 31 (24 + 7 optional) 18-metre electric buses for Bologna’s public transport system, with its e-ATA 18 model (the range was launched last year). This was reported by several Turkish media, including the trade platform DevirSaati. The delivery of the vehicles is pla...

A 6-fold growth for e-buses in Europe in the last five years. ICCT focuses on e-bus deployment in a report

Zero emission bus sales has increased over six-fold from 2016 to 2021 (from 400 to 2,500). “In 2021, fully electric powertrains represented 10% of new bus sales exceeding the same share in passenger cars“. This share takes into account all categories of buses, while focusing on city buse...

Enel X launches the first ‘bus as a service’ project in Italy with Autoguidovie

Enel X and Italian public transport operator Autoguidovie (through the company Cavourese) will be “teaming up to electrify part of the bus fleet serving Turin, Piedmont’s largest city”. Autoguidovie was awarded Lot 2 of the subcontracting tender that was put out by the Turin-based ...

The “first fuel cell coach for European market” (from China, by Sinosynergy and Marcopolo)

by omnibus.news / Rüdiger Schreiber Eyes open, at the IAA Transportation in Hall 23 there is a coach that relies on a fuel cell and hydrogen for propulsion. Sino-Synergy Hydrogen Technology Co., Ltd. (Sinosynergy for short) from China is emphasizing at the trade fair in Hanover that the vehicle is t...

BYD to produce with Castrosua electric buses for Spanish market

BYD and Castrosua launch a cooperation to build electric buses for the Spanish market. BYD has signed a framework agreement with the local bodybuilder so that they will collaborate to produce eco-friendly customised 12-metre eBuses in Spain, specifically for the Spanish market. The BYD-Castrosua 12-...

Also hydrogen bus in Skoda’s family: H’CITY 12 bus presented today at InnoTrans

Another bus premiere at InnoTrans: as previously announced, today Škoda Group has launched the new hydrogen-powered Škoda H’CITY 12 bus. The vehicle is based on the very same platform as the E’CITY e-bus and the trolleybus Skoda T’CITY, both launched this year. Škoda H’CITY 1...

VDL Citea new generation launched. Floor-mounted batteries, up to 110 passengers on board

VDL Citea new generation has been finally unveiled today at InnoTrans 2022. The Dutch manufacturer brought a first demo vehicle in Berlin, where the bus is on the Bus Display. VDL has been leading e-bus market in Europe in first half of 2022. Commercial strategy? “We’ll be moving south, ...

Batteries of BYD e-bus fleet in the Netherlands to be quality assessed before transfer to new PTO (by volytica diagnostics and TÜV)

German technology company volytica diagnostics and TÜV Nord Mobility are supporting the reselling transaction of 259 BYD used electric buses in the Province of Overijssel, Netherlands. The two companies will carry on a battery quality assessment on the vehicles. The concession was awarded earlier th...

Karsan launches e-ATA Hydrogen in Hannover

Karsan started its hydrogen era at the IAA Transportation in Hannover, Germany, adding the fuel cell bus model Karsan e-ATA Hydrogen to its range of electric and autonomous products. The launch was announced last week. Equipped with an overhead 1,560-liter lightweight composite hydrogen tank, the e-...

Hübner unveils steering system for high-capacity buses at InnoTrans

At the InnoTrans 2022 in Berlin, the Hübner Group will be presenting its new steering technology for high-capacity buses as a world first. The advantage of the new, modular steering system, is summed up by the German group: “It makes it possible to safely maneuver 30-meter-long high-capacity b...

Nobina will operate 76 Ebusco 3.0 e-buses in Oslo. Delivery in 2023

Nobina has commissioned Ebusco a fleet of 76 e-buses (3.0 model) for Norwegian capital city Oslo. The delivery is planned for end 2023. The 76 Ebusco 3.0 buses will be used for the Public Transport Authority Ruter in Norway and will operate in and around Oslo. In October 2021 the King of t...

With Rampini Hydron the Italian company launches the first H2-powered 8-meter bus in Europe (and unveils Sixtron and Eltron)

The first hydrogen bus completely made in Italy (and also the very first 8-meter fuel cell bus in Europe) is built and designed by Rampini. The presentation of the new vehicle Rampini Hydron, powered by hydrogen fuel cell, to authorities and the press was held today at the production center in Passi...

Solaris Urbino 18 hydrogen launched. Up to 140 passengers and 350 km range for the articulated bus

With reporting by Rüdiger Schreiber Before IAA and InnoTrans today Solaris launched the Urbino 18 hydrogen at Krakow. Almost 150 people were invited to the world premiere of the new bus. Not only journalist, most of them were customers. The bus will be also on display at Innotrans 2022, one of the m...

Uber integrates National Express coach routes in UK’s Uber Travel service

National Express cooperates with Uber. UK’s largest coach operator has teamed up with Uber to offer customers a seamless travel booking experience. Uber Travel, the new door-to-door travel product from Uber, sees the introduction of coach and rail transport available to book on the Uber app. T...

Karsan to unveil a product news at IAA Transportation. With plans to build a direct sales structure in Germany

Karsan is attending IAA Transportation Expo to be held in Hannover, Germany. The brand, which is preparing to showcase its electric and autonomous product family, “will also make its mark on the fair with the surprise of a new model that will take electric mobility to another dimension“,...

New Flyer launches new fuel cell bus model Xcelsior Charge FC (with Ballard technology and Siemens ELFA 3 drivetrain)

New Flyer unveiled today its next generation fuel cell bus model Xcelsior CHARGE FC, with fuel cell module from Ballard Power Systems and Siemens ELFA 3 at the driveline. The model follows the Xcelsior CHARGE H2 (launched in 2019) and is available in 40-foot and 60-foot lengths, and both models meet...

Go-Ahead has launched nine Voltra electric buses in the North East region

Go-Ahead has added nine Voltra electric buses to expand its fully electric bus fleet in the North East region. The buses are the result of a £2 million investment with top-up funding from the Government’s Ultra-Low Emission Bus Fund. Go-North East’s zero-emission buses will help to improve air quali...

Which bus novelties will be on display at InnoTrans? Ebusco, Solaris, Skoda, Van Hool, VDL, Optibus, Altas (and others) in Berlin

Solaris Urbino 18 hydrogen, Ebusco 3.0, VDL Citea new generation, the fuel cell bus by Skoda. These are just a few examples of bus news to be unveiled at InnoTrans 2022, where 14 buses will be on display. Also Karsan, Optibus, Kiepe Electric, Otokar, Altas, Voith will be attending. On the Bus Displa...

VDL will unveil the new generation Citea at InnoTrans 2022 in Berlin 

Berlin will be the setting for the official presentation of the new generation VDL Citea. This world premiere will take place during the international exhibition InnoTrans 2022, from 20 to 23 September in the capital of Germany. VDL Bus & Coach will demonstrate its new city bus, an LF-122, which...

Delivery of new capacity trolleybuses to Winterthur begins

Winterthur, a Swiss city of 111.800 inhabitants, the second largest in the canton of Zurich, received on 30 august 2022 the first new  trolleybus, model Lightram 25 with a length of 24 metres, by Hess in Bellach. The vehicle, in garish redand-white livery, is already in the Stadtbus Winterthur depot...

The Grand Challenge: an aggregated approach to e-bus procurement in India

Below, a contribution fromTUMI – Transformative Urban Mobility Initiative.It’s the fourth of a series of articles focusing on TUMI E-Bus Mission.Funded by the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and participated by organizations such as C40 Cities, GIZ, ICCT...

Alexander Dennis to provide its new in-house electric bus model in Hong Kong

Alexander Dennis has taken a second order for its new Enviro500EV electric double deck bus, this time from Hong Kong’s MTR Corporation. Delivery will be in 2023. Government-owned MTR Corporation provides Hong Kong’s Mass Transit Railway urban rail system including a network of feeder bus services, f...

Pelican launches the 9-meter e-bus Yutong E9 in the UK

Pelican have announced during August that they are launching a new, smaller zero emission vehicle, named Yutong E9. The E9 has an overall length of 8.94 metre, and a width of 2.42 metre. The vehicle will be highly manoeuvrable, and ideal for both rural and urban applications, the dealer points out. ...

Arrival puts e-bus project on a pause in order to cut costs. Priority is given to van manufacturing

Arrival “reported a wider quarterly loss and said it would delay spending on its bus project as it looks to secure more capital”, Reuters reports. The news comes shortly after it was announced that the UK company is planning a business reorganization with up to 30 per cent of the workforce to be eve...

ADL in-house electric bus models on the launching pad: small and double decker vehicles ready in 2023

Alexander Dennis will add in 2023 in-house electric bus products to its zero-emission portfolio. Available for customer delivery from late 2023, a new small bus and a new electric double decker will complement the BYD ADL partnership’s vehicles, “which will continue to be sold and suppor...

Switch Mobility unveils India’s first electric double-decker bus Switch EiV 22 

Switch Mobility unveiled its new electric double-decker, air-conditioned bus model, named Switch EiV 22. There is room for 65 seated passengers. Switch India has already secured an order of 200 electric double-decker buses in Mumbai. Switch Mobility electric double decker Indian bus “Designed, devel...

Switch Mobility and Chalo together to deploy 5,000 e-buses across India 

Switch Mobility and Chalo, India’s leading transport technology company, have entered into a strategic collaboration for the deployment of 5,000 electric buses across India. Switch will supply variants of the recently launched EiV12 as part of the supply agreement. Switch Mobility say: “This partner...

30% of city buses registered in Europe is now zero emissions. VDL lead the e-bus market in the first half of 2022

VDL is back at the helm of the top e-bus sellers in Europe. The Dutch manufacturer had 242 e-buses registered in the first half of 2022, with BYD – ADL closely following with 221 units. Third, surprise!, Yutong with 217 e-buses delivered. Then the Mercedes eCitaro, Iveco Bus, MAN. Only seventh...

Brisbane has officially ordered 60 extralong e-buses to Hess

Brisbane has officially ordered 60 high-capacity battery electric buses from Swiss manufacturer HESS. Deliveries of the metro fleet will commence from late 2023.  Brisbane City Council’s Brisbane Metro project has then reached a major milestone. The announcement follows extensive on-road testin...

First e-bus project delivered by Enel X UK. New depot established in West London

Enel X UK has completed its first e-bus project for Abellio London Bus, a division of Abellio Group and a major transport operator across the country. The new depot, located in Hayes, houses innovative e-buses delivering zero-emission transport to West London. According to forecasts by independent a...

Fighting pollution: one thousand electric buses on the streets of Jakarta by the end of 2023

Over ten million inhabitants and, soon, one thousand electric buses: one for every ten thousand citizens. This is the plan to fight pollution in Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta,, which – as is well known – has very high concentrations of fine particulate matter and low air quality. As...

In Chile Yutong launched the electric coach T13E and battery safety technology (plus a new team for the local market)

On July 21 Yutong held a release conference for its new battery electric coach Yutong T13E and battery safety technology YESS in Santiago, the capital of Chile. A country that is leading e-bus deployment in Latin America: of the 2,162 battery-powered electric buses counted in the region, two cities ...

Bolzano to add 13 zero emission buses in the fleet (with 10 articulated fuel cell buses)

SASA Bolzano is going to roll out a further batch of 13 zero emission buses (with 18-meter fuel cell buses). The local government has given ‘go-ahead’ to a project that will see the operator taking part in a national call for tender for three battery-powered and ten articulated fuel cell...

2,000th e-bus contracted: Solaris celebrates the milestone

Solaris has signed a contract for its 2000th e-bus. So far, Urbino electric models of various lengths and configurations have been chosen by carriers in over 140 towns and cities in 21 European countries. Over 1300 vehicles out of this pool have...

The retrofit Solar Bus Kit by Sono Motors aims to reduce bus fleet emissions thanks to solar panels

Solar-powered mobility specialist Sono Motors has unveiled a ‘Solar Bus Kit’ for public transportation fleet. Through a retrofit intervention, with installation of solar panels on the roof of a conventional bus, the system aims to reduce fuel consumption and inner-city greenhouse gas emissions. In A...

Tata Motors awarded 1500 electric buses in Delhi (under CESL tender)

Tata Motors has been awarded the largest order to date for electric buses by Delhi Transport Corporation. India’s largest commercial vehicle manufacturer (also fuel cell buses are in the portfolio) is set to supply, operate and maintain 1500 air-conditioned, low-floor 12-metre electric buses model T...

Bratislava to deploy a fleet of fuel cell buses (by Solaris)

Bratislava is going to deploy Slovakia’s first fuel cell bus fleet. DPB (that stands for Dopravný Podnik Bratislava), the capital’s public transport operator, has received approval for its call for funding addressed at the government. The news is reported on The Slovak Spectator. Slovakia to d...

Electric bus deployment speeding up in Latin America [TUMI E-Bus Mission #3]

At first glance, Latin America appears to be a performance leader when it comes to electric bus deployment. As of April 2022, there were 3,209 electric buses in operation across Latin America according to the E-Bus Radar launched in May 2020. Of the 2,162 battery-powered electric buses counted, two ...

Petros Spinaris from Solaris to Ekoenergetyka (in the same role of Vice President)

Petros Spinaris, former Solaris Deputy CEO Sales, After Sales & Marketing, has been appointed Vice President at Ekoenergetyka. He will be responsible for Sales and Marketing. Petros Spinaris from Solaris to Ekoenergetyka Petros Spinaris has extensive professional experience, particularly in...

InoBat will supply Impact with battery cells. Modules to be adopted by “a leading European bus manufacturer”

InoBat and Impact Clean Power Technology have signed an agreement for the development and subsequent supply of battery cells to Impact. Utilising this prismatic battery cells, Impact will develop a high voltage battery system that will be manufactured in GigafactoryX in Poland (whose project has bee...

IAA Transportation 2022, «We want to send a signal to the bus industry: we are your platform». Our interview with IAA Head Jan Heckmann

A truck exhibition? Yes… but. Although goods transportation is of course expected to be the key topic in Hannover, with plenty of exciting novelties ready to be unveiled (you may find everything on the subject in Sustainable Truck&Van section dedicated to IAA 2022), public transport and bu...

VHH Hamburg to procure 183 e-buses and 210 chargers with BMDV fundings

With the funding decision from the Federal Ministry of Digital Affairs and Transport (BMDV) for the conversion of local public transport to electric mobility, Verkehrsbetriebe Hamburg-Holstein GmbH (VHH) will be able to procure a total of 183 e-buses and 210 charging stations. This summer, VHH will ...

Solaris has sold another 20 e-buses in Cracow

Cracow has once again opted for Solaris buses. A contract was signed for the delivery of 20 Urbino electric buses to the city. 7 articulated and 13 12-metre e-buses will join Cracow’s fleet in just one year’s time, manufacturer states. The total value of the contract, concluded as a result of a tend...

Arrival towards business restructuring. Up to 30% workforce may be cut

Arrival is planning a business reorganization. Up to 30 per cent of the workforce is going to be eventually reduced, Reuters says. The agency reports: “The restructuring, which the company said is in response to a challenging economic environment, aims at a 30% cut in spending to help meet its...

Iveco Bus to equip its fuel cell buses with technology by Hyundai’s brand HTWO (and is going to produce buses in Italy)

Iveco Bus will collaborate with HTWO to equip its future European fuel cell buses with Hyundai-made fuel cell modules. HTWO, as a fuel cell system-based hydrogen business brand of Hyundai Motor Group, was first released in December 2020. It’s the first outcome of the partnership signed by Ivec...

Fuel cell buses in Paris region: soon expected a tender for 47 vehicles

Paris, 47 fuel cell buses are expected to be tendered, with deployment by end 2023 in Ile-de-France region, according to French weekly newspaper Le Journal du dimanche. The procurement requires an investment of 48 million euros. Currently seven hydrogen buses are deployed in the region, in the frame...

24-meter trolleys for Linz, 70 e-buses for Vienna. Austrian government funds 289 e-buses with 122 million euros

122 million euros to support the procurement of 289 electric buses. The first call has been completed, the second already started. Austrian government is investing in regional zero emission bus transport. Among the funded projects, there are 16 double-articulated trolleybuses for Linz, where the ser...

Irizar electric buses have covered more than 750,000 km in Schaffhausen (Switzerland)

Over 750,000 electric kilometres covered and 60,000 ultra-fast charging procedures performed. It’s the milestone reached by Irizar e-mobility and operator VBSH Verkehrsbetriebe Schaffhausen within the project that see a fleet of 15 ie tram models (eight 12m-long and seven 18m-long vehicles) de...

89 Karsan e-Atak in Luxembourg make up Europe’s largest e-midibus fleet (on intercity routes)

The largest electric midibus fleet in Europe? It is made of 89 Karsan e-Atak, ready to be deployed in Luxembourg. The Turkish brand has been delivering 8-meter e-buses to the country’s operators (the main are Sales-Lentz and Voyages Emile Weber) since a few time. On 17th July the whole fleet o...

Sustainable Bus Awards 2023 to be delivered at Next Mobility Exhibition. Check out the finalists’ list!

The first edition of Next Mobility Exhibition (NME) will host the awarding of the Sustainable Bus Awards 2023. They’ll be delivered during a live ceremony on 13 October 2022. The exhibition will be held between 12 and 14 October in Milano Fiera: it’ll be the kickoff of a brand new format, with bienn...

Volvo Group invests in Optibus to speed up on bus electrification and digitalization

Volvo Group has announced a strategic investment in Optibus (entity has not been released). Goal? “To advance bus electrification and the digitalization of the public transportation industry”, Optibus says in a press note. The investment supports key software infrastructure for achieving...

Yutong completed delivery of 741 e-buses in Qatar, ready for 2022 FIFA World Cup

741 Yutong e-buses delivered: one of the largest electric bus fleet in the world is ready to operate during 2022 FIFA World Cup that is set to take place from 21 November to 18 December 2022. The order for 1,002 e-buses (plus service) was signed in November 2020. 741 battery-electric vehicles were p...

UK, West Yorkshire approves plan for zero emission bus transition: over 200 e-buses to be deployed

The number of e-buses in operation in West Yorkshire is set to grow, according to plans approved by West Yorkshire Combined Authority: 111 e-buses are awaited in the first phase, with another batch for 126 to follow. The new vehicles would be part of the West Yorkshire Zero Emission bus program...

Keolis wins a suburban bus network in Denmark and will convert it to zero emission with Ebusco 3.0 buses

Nordjyllands Trafikselskab (NT), the public transport authority for Northern Denmark, awarded Keolis a new contract to operate and maintain a fossil free network of 31 buses in Northern Jutland, which notably covers Aalborg and its surroundings.  The contract is set to begin on 1st August 2022 and i...

MAN is to launch e-bus and e-truck battery production in Nuremberg (volume production starting in 2025)

MAN Truck & Bus is establishing large-scale production of batteries for electric trucks and buses at Nuremberg site, until now known as a historical place for combustion engine manufacturing. The group will invest around 100 million euros (securing 350 jobs in Nuremberg). Planned battery manufac...

Ricardo is working with Stagecoach on the repowering of a diesel coach with hydrogen fuel cell system

Engineering company Ricardo is partnering with Stagecoach North East, focusing on the repowering of a diesel double decker bus with a hydrogen fuel cell propulsion system. “Ricardo is seeking to offer the hydrogen fuel cell re-powered vehicles at around half the price of a new bus, significant...

Valladolid’s AUVASA will receive 30 Irizar ie tram electric buses (with 630 kWh on board)

Public transport operator AUVASA (Autobuses Urbanos de Valladolid) has signed a framework agreement with Irizar e-mobility for 30 Irizar ie tram model zero-emissions buses and charging infrastructure for them. Delivery of those units will be spread out over two years, with the first eleven units to ...

EBS wins Zaanstreek-Waterland concession in the Netherlands (against Connexxion / Transdev)

EBS won a new tender in the Netherlands: the PTO will be in charge of transport services in the Zaanstreek-Waterland concession from December 2023. EBS won the concession against the other contender Transdev (the group’s brand Connexxion has been so far operating the concession). The same PTO ...

Buckling up for the long ride: embedding foundational AI into the future of transportation. A contribution by Jonas Boehm, TWAICE

Below, a contribution by Jonas Boehm, Partnerships Manager at battery analytics company TWAICE. AI and IoT are on course to revolutionize the transportation industry. Only those preparing to integrate these technologies can hope to come out as winners. Important applications can already be seen toda...

Stress level: what hurts? [The Battery Cycle #7]

Below, a new contribution fromClaudius Jehle, CEO of volytica diagnostics GmbH*.It’s the seventh of a series of knowledge articles (a cycle, indeed) on a series of topics around Li-Ion Batteries,written by Claudius and other field-related experts.Feedbacks, questions and contributions...

Over 12,000 committed electric school buses in the US, and the trend is increasing, according the newly-updated WRI Electric School Bus initiative report

Over 12,000 committed* electric school buses have been tracked by WRI Electric School Bus (ESB) initiative across the United States as of March 31, 2022. That’s more than 10,000 additional electric school buses since the release of WRI’s January 2022 dataset and almost a 10-fold increase since WRI b...

Iveco Bus plans to relaunch production in Italy

Iveco Bus is applying to European funds in order to “initiate manufacturing investments and Research & Development activities that will capitalise on the skills and products of the national automotive supply chain, with particular focus on the dedicated component sector”, Iveco Group...

Enel X will test Arrival e-bus in Italy

Enel X and Arrival have entered into a partnership to test the zero-emission battery electric bus in Italy. Timing of the trial has not been specified so far. The aim is to foster the growth of electrified public transport globally through increasingly high-performance and competitive solutions. The...

Scania Citywide fully electric presented to the press in Södertälje: «Production has begun»

The new bus generation of Scania is – also – electric. During a two-day event in Södertälje, the group has made available for a test drive its new 100 per cent electric Citywide, showed for the first time at Busworld in 2019. Production of the fully electric Scania Citywide, Scania deleg...

New facility (Trident House) and new brand identity for Alexander Dennis

Alexander Dennis has opened its new Trident House facility in Farnborough (South of England). And, in the meantime, the company launched a new brand identity that is meant to emphasise the company’s agility and innovation. In this concern, AD24 becomes the name for all the manufacturer’s Aftermarket...

NTA goes with Wrightbus: up to 800 electric DD buses awarded

NTA has ordered 120 buses from Wrightbus. The acronym identifies Irish National Transport Authority. The order includes consists of double-deck battery-electric buses (100 headed to Dublin Bus, 20 to Bus Éireann) from Bamford Bus Company (trading as Wrightbus, as reported in the manufacturer press n...

A test track in Italy for wireless charging from the road pavement. ABB and Iveco among partners

Brebemi’s Arena of the Future project kicks off. A circuit of about 1 km where electric vehicles can charge their batteries while on the move, thanks to a wireless dynamic induction charging system integrated into the roadbed (1MW of installed power strong). Brebemi inaugurated this morning at...

MAN to offer the electric bus chassis on the global market starting in 2024

MAN “will in future be offering an electric bus chassis for the global market“, the group announces. It’ll be based on technologies from the Lion’s City E, for which a total of over 1,000 orders have been received to date (the vehicle will be in roadshow outside the old conti...

What we have found at EuMo 2022. A sum-up

The 2022 edition of the European Mobility Expo (EuMo) in Paris has been kicked off yesterday. A three-day event dedicated to the (sustainable) mobility of the present and the future, with the world of buses meeting with that of technological solution, as well as the field of alternative and shared m...

Switch Mobility e1 electric bus launched. ZF motors, NMC batteries, lightweight body

Switch Mobility unveiled today the SWITCH e1 electric bus, tailored to the European market. Launched at the European Mobility Expo, the vehicle combines a lightweight monocoque construction with NMC battery technology.  It is equipped with a 389kWh battery capacity...

Van Hool to launch the new A series e-bus range at European Mobility Expo in Paris tomorrow

Van Hool will be introducing the new range of zero-emission public buses A Series at the European Mobility Expo in Paris (kickoff tomorrow 7th June – Sustainable Bus will be attending), one of the main public transport exhibitions scheduled for 2022 in Europe. At the same exhibition Switch Mob...

Tests underway for a new trolleybus model by Skoda (T’CITY)

A brand new type of a 12-meter T´CITY Škoda trolleybus is on a test in Pilsen, Czech Republic. The novelty among Škoda Group products will pass a series of tests in the West-Bohemian metropolis in order to accomplish the type and homologation tests. The vehicle is equipped with traction batteries. I...

Karsan shows the entire electric bus range at Busworld Turkey (with goal of a 3-fold growth in EVs sales)

Karsan attended Busworld Turkey 2022 showcasing its new electric growth strategy, e-Volution, by exhibiting its 100% electric model family from 6 to 18 meters at Busworld Turkey 2022, Turkey’s largest bus show. At the same exhibition Otokar launched the articulated e-bus and Isu...

CATL to supply LFP batteries to Solaris

CATL is going to supply LFP batteries to European leading electric bus manufacturer Solaris Bus & Coach. The bus builder will benefit from CATL Cell to Pack (CTP) technology, CATL points out in a press note. In the bus segment, CATL is already into agreement with Quantron and VDL. CATL is today ...

Otokar launches articulated version of the e-Kent at Busworld Turkey

Otokar chose the Busworld Turkey to unveil the 18-meter version of its e-Kent. The e-Kent Articulated has a length of 18.7 meter and can be equipped with a maximum battery capacity of 560 kWh. The battery supplier is Webasto. The motor is provided by Voith (as in the 12-meter version) and is capable...

Arriva Group launches its Zero Emission Institute to accelerate decarbonization journey through partnerships (with initial focus on buses)

Arriva Group is launching a new Zero Emission Institute which will be led by a team of experts in fleet planning, to accelerate its journey to net-zero in partnership with cities and regions. The initial focus will be on buses, with trains, buildings and processes part of the remit The Institute &#8...

Transport for London recalls 90 double decker e-buses after fire in Potters Bar depot

Transport for London has recalled 90 electric buses after a fire involved one of them on Sunday. The precautionary measure has been decided while the company investigates causes of the blaze, that happened at Potters Bar depot in Hertfordshire, run by Metroline. Six buses were damaged. Due to the su...

«We, electric and autonomous. With hydrogen in the sight». Okan Baş, Karsan CEO, speaks

It was 2018, just four years ago, when Karsan decided to take a turn, welcoming the wave of electrification with open arms. First a six-meter, the e-Jest, then an eight-meter the e-Atak, and finally a full range up to 18 meters, via ten and twelve. Now, with 350 e-buses on the streets of the Old [&h...

Meritor to take over Siemens Commercial Vehicles (both set to stay under Cummins’ umbrella)

Meritor announces it has found an agreement with Siemens to acquire its Commercial Vehicles Electric Propulsion business. Meritor was in turn acquired by Cummins earlier this year, will pay about 190 million euro in cash, adjusted for changes in working capital at closing. It is worth mentioning tha...

Optibus becomes first public transport unicorn thanks to a new $100 million funding

Optibus has closed $100 million in Series D funding, with investments from new and existing investors Insight Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners, Verizon Ventures, Pitango First & Pitango Growth, Tencent, SOMV Momentum, BlueRed Partners and others. This latest round of financing brings Optibus’...

Zenobe provides financing and services for en electric coach for the first time. A deal with Airsym in England

Zenobē enters a partnership with Airsym, a transport provider for airlines, airports and ground handling companies, to launch into service a brand-new Yutong TCe12 electric coach, in England. The coach will be used as part of a shuttle service for McClaren Automotive, transporting staff from Woking ...

GVB to launch 84 new generation Citea electric buses in Amsterdam (with option for further 130)

GVB has ordered 84 new generation VDL Citea for Amsterdam. They will be deployed from 2023 onwards. The framework contract includes an option for a further 130 new VDL Citea. VDL Bus & Coach will deliver 30 articulated new generation VDL Citeas (virtually launched one year ago) of type LF-181 an...

3,400 zero emission buses to be procured in Germany by 2025, PwC study shows

In 2021 Germany saw a doubling of zero emission buses onto its streets (they reached 1,269 compared to 683). Indeed, 586 new battery-electric and fuel cell buses were added in 2021. This means that the number of new registrations grew by almost 60 percent compared to 2020 and the 1,000 vehicles mark...

EMT Madrid awards 150 e-buses to Irizar e-mobility and Solaris (90 and 60 units respectively)

EMT Madrid has awarded a batch of 150 electric buses (for 81 million euros), the largest procurement of e-buses issued by the operator so far. Winners? Irizar e-mobility and Solaris. It has been announced by the transport company with a press release. The buses are set to be delivered in 2022 and 20...

Karsan’s Autonomous e-Atak lands in Norway

An autonomous bus on the streets of Norway. It was provided by Karsan, which in these days presented in Stavanger the Autonomous e-Atak, with which the Bursa-based parent company enters the Northern European market, representing in fact the first self-driving bus in the Old Continent. Norway is one ...

Deutsche Bahn to purchase 1,200 buses. Ebusco selected as e-bus supplier (260 units)

Deutsche Bahn (DB) is investing 400 million euros for the renewal of bus fleets. From 2023 to 2026, around 1,200 vehicles are to be delivered, including 260 electric buses. DB has now concluded a corresponding framework agreement with the manufacturers MAN and Ebusco, from which it can call up the v...

Abellio London launches two new routes. 11 Switch e-buses and 30 Wrightbus Electroliner to enter service within 2022

Two new Transport for London (TfL) bus routes launched on Saturday (30 April): Abellio London began operating 41 additional buses on the roads of the capital – increasing its fleet size by 5% in a single night. Abellio commenced operating the 322 (Clapham Common-Crystal Palace) from its Batter...

RATP temporarily recalls 149 BlueBus e-buses in Paris as a safety measure

RATP has recalled 149 BlueBus electric buses that used to be in operation in Paris. The decision is due to safety reasons, following the recently-occurred fires of two vehicles. Indeed, it comes after an electric bus on line 71 caught fire today in the 13th arrondissement, without causing any injuri...

Solaris in Milan, again. New batch of 75 e-buses headed to Italy (with 140 units already on the road)

The Italian operator ATM Milano has again placed an order for electric buses made by Solaris, going for another batch envisaged in the framework agreement for 250 vehicles signed in 2019. The first two batches, 140 electric Urbino buses in total, have already been delivered to the client. This time ...

BUS2BUS 2022: what we found under Messe Berlin’s spotlights

Yesterday saw the opening of the two-day BUS2BUS 2022 exhibition, Berlin’s bus trade fair. The venue for this key event for the German market is Messe Berlin’s pavilions 20 and 21, which once again welcomed visitors and vehicles, after a completely digital edition due to the pandemic. Bu...

Equipmake showcases its repower solution (on a Volvo double decker bus)

Equipmake is showcasing its latest pure electric bus technology at the ALBUM Conference in Blackpool, in the shape of a repowered double decker.  Unveiled for the first time, the fully electric Volvo B5LH debuts the company’s repower solution, which has been developed at Equipmake’s base in Norfolk ...

Project CAVForth in Scotland: autonomous bus pilot launched by ADL – Stagecoach with Enviro200 at SAE Level 4

Alexander Dennis claims it has began “live testing of Europe’s most complex and ambitious public autonomous bus pilot in Scotland ahead of passenger services starting later this year”. A first glimpse of the bus involved in this project was revealed in November 2021. The project was init...

Brisbane Metro’s pilot vehicle (a 24-meter battery-electric bus) arrives in Australia

Two and half years after contract award, Brisbane Metro’s much-anticipated vehicle, the lighTram 25, built and designed by Swiss vehicle manufacturer HESS, has arrived in Brisbane.  The 24.5-metre bi-articulated, battery electric pilot bus will go through an extensive testing and acceptanc...

Switch Mobility announces £300m investment in UK and India

A massive £300 million investment plan in the UK and India. This has been announced by Switch Mobility, as part of its strategic objective to become a market leader in carbon neutral public and commercial transport. The new technical center will be opened in Warwick, UK, and will be the focal point ...

Île-de-France Mobilités, 23 million euros financing for electric bus purchase by Oblibus

23 million euros financing for electric bus purchase in Île-de-France. Oblibus, a financing package offered by Banque des Territoires in partnership with the European Investment Bank, is supporting Île-de-France Mobilités and the RATP with €23 million for the acquisition of 100% electric buses and c...

Rnv expands the electric fleet by welcoming 15 eCitaro

Fifteen new electric buses signed Mercedes (eCitaro) for the urban transport of Ludwigshafen, Mannheim and Heidelberg. So the German operator Rhein-Neckar-Verkehr GmbH (Rnv) continues to expand and electrify its fleet by welcoming the first 15 of the 30 latest generation “stars” with sol...

Italian Autoguidovie and the tender for 120 electric buses

67 million euros investment for 120 electric buses. Autoguidovie, the main Italian private-owned public transport company, with activities in the north of the country, speeds up its investment plans towards zero-emission mobility, and last week published a large tender for the purchase of battery-el...

Assured, the end of the European project for greener cities thanks to e-buses

The European project Assured has made e-buses a reality over the past five years. Also to make our cities greener, healthier and more livable. Coordinated by VUB (Vrije Universiteit Brussel), Assured was launched in 2017 with a consortium of 38 partners that included stakeholders from the entire tra...

Greenmot equips its factory to produce retrofit kits

As the project to convert diesel buses into electric buses is progressing well, with Green-eBus successfully passing the first development milestone, clocking up the first kilometers with its new electric motor (responding perfectly to the constraints of driving, including uphill driving and untimel...

1,600 zero emission buses funded in Germany with Federal grants. Eight PTOs awarded with 600 million euros

1,600 zero emission buses (and 110 biomethane-powered ones) financed in Germany: the Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing has awarded grants amounting to 600 million euros (part of the 1.25 billion plan announced last year) within the new “Directive on the promotion of alternative drive s...

On the reasons behind e-buses (and EVs) fires and how to decrease risks (the problem is smaller than one might think)

A contribution by Prof. Paul Christensen, Claudius Jehle, Alex Johns, Paul Markham published on February 2022 issue of Sustainable Bus magazine. The 1950s through 1980s saw a drive towards increasing the energy density and size of steam turbines from c. 150MW to 600MW – and several severe incidents ...

111 e-buses launched in Amsterdam – Schiphol: 85 per cent of the concession is now zero emission

The 111 electric buses launched yesterday bring to 206 the number of electric buses in operation around Schiphol airport, Amsterdam. The debut in operation was celebrated yesterday by the transport authority Vervoerregio Amsterdam and the operator Transdev Nederland – Connexxion. They’ll...

Mercedes eCitaro to be sold on request with charging management system (by IVU)

Daimler Truck joins forces with IVU: public transport operators can now acquire the electric bus Mercedes eCitaro and software from a single source, on request. A current example of this is BSAG Bremen, where the delivery package includes the charging infrastructure and a charging management system....

German government awards funding for 472 e-buses in Hamburg

The Federal Minister of Digital Affairs and Transport, Volker Wissing, announced funding amounting to around 160 million euros for the electrification of local public transport in Hamburg and the surrounding area. Money that will be used to finance 472 new battery-electric buses. The recipients of t...

Solaris awarded 87 hybrid buses in Barcelona

Solaris has been awarded an order for 87 hybrid buses that will be used in the metropolitan area of Barcelona (Spain). The hybrid fleet will be managed by AMB (Area Metropolitana de Barcelona), the institution that administers urban transport in...

Oxford to roll out 159 electric buses within ZEBRA scheme

A fleet of 159 electric buses is set to serve Oxford and its surrounding areas after a bid for government funding was approved. Oxfordshire County Council has been awarded £32.8 million from the Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (ZEBRA) scheme. Oxford: electric buses are coming Along with £43.7m from...

De Lijn launches a procurement for up to 1,250 e-buses from 10 to 24-meter. Also e-midibuses to be purchased

The board of directors of De Lijn has started a new procurement for the purchase of up to 1,250 emission-free buses of different types with lengths between 8.5 to 24 metres. This procedure runs parallel to the framework agreement for a maximum of 350 standard e-buses that was awarded last year. De L...

1,000 zero emission buses to be deployed in UK thanks to £200 million grants (and consultation launched to set ending date for non-ZE bus sales)

1,000 zero emission buses are to be rolled out in the UK with the backing of nearly £200 million in government funding (around 240 million euros). Twelve areas in England, from Greater Manchester to Portsmouth, will receive grants from the multimillion-pound package to deliver electric or hydrogen p...

Historical Brixton Tramshed depot in London to be powered with Hitachi Energy Grid-eMotion fleet system (a partnership with Arriva and Zenobe)

Hitachi Energy has been commissioned a Grid-eMotion fleet system to electrify Arriva’s Brixton Tramshed depot in south London. The same system has just been awarded an order in Berlin. Launched in mid-2020, the depot-based charging solution was also ordered in Swedish Västerås, where&nbsp...

Towards IT-TRANS 2022. The biggest event on IT and digitalisation in public transport at its 8th edition

IT-TRANS 2022 is going to gather the world of public transport in May for the eight edition of the biggest event of its kind dedicated to I.T. and digitalisation in the sector. Held from 10-12 May, IT-TRANS will host three days full of interesting and innovate output, across a rich Conference progra...

€2.6 billion to be invested in e-mobility R&D by TRATON Group by 2026

TRATON Group will invest about 2.6 billion euros in research and development related to e-mobility by 2026. It is a significant increase compared to the previous 1.6 billion euros planned by 2025. At the same time, the global group with strong footprint in commercial vehicles announced that «th...

The web event ‘Powering the future of public transport’ (*REPLAY AVAILABLE*)

The webinar was opened by an overview by UITP and gathered contributions from cities embarked on the way to the transition to e-buses, such as Brisbane, and from PTOs represented in the German organization VDV. Finally, the point of view of the bus builder has been represented by Ebusco‘s CEO Peter ...

New e-BRT lines in Paris’ future: 56 ground-charged e-buses are coming (awarded to Van Hool – Kiepe – Alstom)

A fleet of (at least) 56 bi-articulated battery-powered buses coupled with ground-based charging system. The Île-de-France region and the transport authority Île-de-France Mobilités have chosen an innovative public transport solution provided by a consortium made of Van Hool, Kiepe Electric and Alst...

Keolis has set the goal of tripling the share of alternative drive bus kilometres by 2030. 2021 revenues were up 3.7%

Keolis Group has the set the goal of tripling the share of bus kilometres powered by alternative energies to diesel by 2030. This goes along with the other commitment to reducing intensity of greenhouse gas emissions per kilometre by 30% from the 2019 baseline. Finally, the French group aims to...

Global electric bus market to reach 670k units in 2027 (from 112k in 2022), according to study

The global electric bus market size is projected to grow from 112,041 units in 2022 to reach 671,285 units by 2027, at a CAGR of 43.1% according to a new report by MarketsandMarkets (entitled: “Electric Bus Market by Propulsion (BEV, PHEV & FCEV), Application (Intercity & Intra-city), ...

Sustainable Bus becomes media partner for TUMI E-Bus Mission

Ambitious steps are needed to limit global warming and to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement. The electrification of urban buses is considered an important element in the decarbonization of urban transport. It also helps to reduce local air pollution and increase the quality of life in urban a...

Scania’s commitment to the electrification of transport in Mexico (signing Zebra)

Scania Mexico confirms its commitment to sustainability and the environment to reduce emissions and have a cleaner and more efficient mobility through its products: thus comes also its signature to the project ZEBRA (Zero Emission Bus Rapid-Deployment Accelerator), which is led by the International ...

106 Solaris zero emission buses headed to ÖBB Postbus’ fleet in Austria

Up to 106 zero emission buses are headed to Austria, where ÖBB Postbus is going to deploy them starting from 2022 – 2025. Solaris has signed another framework agreement with the Austrian bus company Österreichische Postbus AG. It stipulates a possibility to delive...

Long-distance truck and coach market according to Interact Analysis: an ‘electrification battle’ between battery-electric and H2 technology

Heavy-duty commercial vehicles, being them trucks of coaches, will continue to be diesel-powered for a few years. Anyhow, «In the long term, we’re looking at an electrification battle between battery electric and hydrogen fuel cell technology in this sector». Who is going to win? «In the wider comme...

The first 6-meter e-bus with pantograph in Europe. Cagliari with Rampini (charged through the trolleybus infrastructure)

A new electric bus concept launched in Cagliari (Sardinia, Italy): Rampini has delivered the first unit out of a seven vehicles order. The fleet has a peculiarity: these are the first 6-meter battery-electric buses in Europe with pantograph. They’ll be charged through the trolleybus infrastruc...

Karsan e-Jest confirmed 2021 market leader in the European electric minibus segment

Karsan becomes the leading brand in the electric minibus market in Europe for two consecutive years. The e-Jest was wrapped up 2020 as Europe’s leader in the electric minibus market with a market share of 43 percent, which jumped to 51.2 percent in 2021, placing it once again at the top spot, ...

ADL awarded 137 zero emission buses within ScotZEB fundings (£62 million available)

ADL welcomes ScotZEB funding for 137 Scottish-built zero emission buses. The Scottish Government’s has indeed announced the award of £62 million in funding to bus operators through Phase 1 of the Scottish Zero Emission Bus Challenge Fund (“ScotZEB”). The plan was announced in summer 2021. Successful...

Letenda launches its first zero emission transit bus model Electrip (with an eye on Canadian winter conditions)

Letenda unveiled its new generation of zero-emission transit buses designed specifically for electric propulsion and Canadian winter conditions. The first model, named Electrip, is entirely engineered in Quebec. In late 2021 it was announced that Cummins battery technology is to power elec...

Volvo Buses secures new electric bus orders in Finland

Volvo Buses secures new orders for electric buses in Finland. That’s right, because the Gothenburg-based company will deliver an 82 Volvo 7900 electric buses to three locations in Finland: 61 are destined for Helsinki and represent the largest ever order for Volvo Buses in Finland, while two o...

Amsterdam concession to be fully zero emission by 2025 (instead of 2030). PTA, city and GVB signed a letter of intent

A few days ago Gerard Slegers (vice chairman of the Amsterdam Transport region), Egbert de Vries (councilor of traffic and transport of the city of Amsterdam) and Claudia Zuiderwijk (general manager of GVB) signed the letter of intent Zero Emission Transition Amsterdam. 44 e-buses are now operationa...

Where will hydrogen come from in the future? [The Hydrogen Hub #1]

Below, a contribution from EMCEL, a German-based engineering company focusing on hydrogen, fuel cells and e-mobility. It’s the first of a series of articles on topics around hydrogen economy and applications. Feedbacks, questions and contributions are welcome (at info@sustainable-bus.com) Hydr...

Prague to roll out 20 bi-articulated trolleybuses from Solaris (with Skoda)

A consortium comprised of Solaris Bus & Coach, Solaris Czech and Škoda Electric (with the latter leading the group) has submitted a winning bid in a trolleybus tender concerning the delivery of 20 bi-articulated Trollino 24, held by the Prague public transport operator Dopravní podnik. This is t...

BYD ADL to build 130 electric double decker buses for National Express Coventry (financed and managed by Zenobe)

Alexander Dennis Limited (ADL) and BYD UK will supply over 130 zero emission double deck buses to EV fleet and battery storage specialist Zenobē and bus operator National Express, and support these vehicles with spare parts over a period of 16 years. The buses are part of a £140 million project to m...

Bus2Bus 2022: appointment in Berlin on 27 and 28 April

The international bus and coach industry will meet on 27 and 28 April at the Berlin Exhibition Centre for the third edition of Bus2Bus, after a 2021 event held online for obvious pandemic reasons. Product innovations, specialist presentations and networking events make BUS2BUS one of the industry&#8...

Quantron Cizaris launched, with CATL batteries and TM4 motor. It is based on a platform proven in Asian markets

The Quantron Cizaris 12-meter electric bus was launched today during a digital unveiling ceremony. The new bus model in the Augsburg-based company’s bus portfolio is now available as an all-electric version (Cizaris 12 EV), followed in 2023 by a fuel cell drive (Cizaris 12 H) using a largely i...

The first electric minibus in Bulgaria is signed Karsan (and it’s an e-Jest)

Karsan standard bearer for electrification of European fleets. The Turkish manufacturer, in fact, has signed the first electric minibus in Bulgaria, delivering 4 e-Jest buses to the city of Dobrich. The e-Jest minibus, the first electric bus for public transport in the city, was purchased by the mun...

Salzburg AG lands a new trolleybus order with Hess: another 13 vehicles commissioned (it brings the total to

Salzburg AG has just ordered 13 new battery-powered trolleybuses from Hess. They are expected to be delivered in 2023 and 2024. This will bring the Hess fleet in Salzburg to 42 vehicles. In addition to the delivery of vehicles, the contract also includes the maintenance of the vehicles by Hess in Sa...

TfL launches new e-buses on the road and calls for long term funding deal

A new fleet of full electric buses to revolutionize London’s transport and mobility in a green way, as well as encourage even more people to return to public transport in the post-pandemic. The e-buses in the English capital are a sign of the commitment of the city and Tfl (Transport for Londo...

EU electric bus market grew 50% in 2021 (over 3,000 registrations). Mercedes debuts in the leaders’ group

Electric bus registrations increased of 48% in 2021 compared to 2020 in Europe. 3,282 e-buses were delivered last year, bringing to over 8,500 the vehicles registered in the continent since 2012. What is worth mentioning, in 2021 for the first time as many as three European countries registered over...

Québec, RTC to launch a 30-units e-bus tender towards public transport electrification. Chargers commissioned to Hitachi Energy

In Québec (Canada) Réseau de transport de la Capitale’s (RTC) Board of Directors authorized a loan by-law of $61 million for the acquisition of 30 electric buses by 2026. This is an important milestone towards the electrification of its public transport fleet. The arrival of the...

Up to 80 Ebusco buses for Rouen, France. 3.0 model to be delivered in articulated version by 2026 (as option)

Ebusco has signed a contract with the Metropole Rouen Normandy, France, for a total of up to 80 electric buses. The contract comprises four Ebusco 2.2 buses, to be delivered around year-end 2022 and an option to purchase 76 additional Ebusco 3.0 buses, which will be delivered in batches between 2023...

Volvo Buses won the Climate and Health award at the UITP MENA conference in Dubai

Volvo Buses has won the Climate and Health award at the UITP conference held in Dubai on 6 February. The trophy is motivated by the electromobility implementation in Gothenburg, Sweden. The launch of the new BZL electric bus chassis is the latest novelty from Volvo Buses, which has announced it&#821...

ADL’s zero emission center of excellence in Falkirk, Scotland

Alexander Dennis Limited (ADL), a subsidiary of NFI Group Inc. (NFI), one of the world’s leading independent bus manufacturers, welcomed UK Government Minister for Scotland Iain Stewart on a visit to the planned Falkirk Investment Zone. ADL is among the industrial partners in the investment zo...

Israel sets target for zero emission bus purchases for public transport. 100% ZE buses mandatory in 2026

Starting in 2026, in Israel all new buses for public transport must be zero emissions. Israeli Ministry of Environmental Protection has set mandatory targets for public transportation operators in the country. The goal is to have only zero emission buses in municipal public transportation by 2036. I...

Karsan sells a first Autonomous e-Atak to Vy Buss in Norway

Karsan has delivered the first batch of Level-4 autonomous buses ready for real road conditions in USA and Europe, to Romania. And new orders are coming from Northern Europe, Norway. The Autonomous e-ATAK is already testing the roads in Stavanger, Norway. Autonomous e-ATAK, launched one year ago, wa...

SOH… What is that? [The Battery Cycle #6]

With today’s article, we are crossing the line from rather short-term effects to the vast field of degradation, to which we will dedicate a whole chain of articles in 2022. But to begin, it is instrumental to understand some basic principles. What is the excessively used “SOH”? How is it defined, wh...

BYD electric school bus launched in the US (with vehicle-to-grid technology)

BYD introduced an electric school bus model in North America. Being more specific, the bus is a Type A battery electric vehicle and, what is interesting, «offers innovative vehicle-to-grid technology, allowing the vehicle to serve as a power storage resource when it’s not transporting students», the...

Temsa’s electric vehicles set to revolutionize public transport in Spain

Temsa introduced its electrical bus MD9 electriCITY in Spain where electrical vehicle transformation is accelerated. Within the scope of the demo program organized under the leadership of Alsa, Spain’s largest operator company, theelectric bus, which will serve on the lines in the city of Murc...

Up the curtain on the new Scania Interlink

Up the curtain on the Scania Interlink new generation. With it, Scania has introduced an entirely new range of buses for urban operations, starting in 2019 and with continuous updates ever since, not least to the BEV portfolio. The new Scania Interlink has new chassis and body and offers fuel saving...

Quantron to digitally unveil its 12-meter e-bus Cizaris on 16th February

Quantron AG is launching its own all-electric city bus. The vehicle Cizaris will be showcased worldwide as part of an online presentation. Initially planned for end 2021, the event is scheduled for February 16 at 10 am (CET) at event.quantron.net live. Quantron Cizaris: fuel cell version to come The...

German e-bus market: +57% in 2021. 555 registrations, Mercedes is the top seller

Germany has been in 2021 the leading country in Europe when it comes to e-bus registrations: as many as 555 battery-electric buses have been delivered along with 33 fuel cell buses. And Mercedes, with the eCitaro, gained the first place as leading e-bus manufacturer in the country. The news is repor...

130 electric double decker buses headed to Coventry in the framework of UK plan for the first all-electric bus city (by 2025)

A fleet of 130 zero-emission double decker buses will be introduced next year in Coventry by operator National Express as part of a £140 million project to make Coventry the UK’s first all-electric bus city. They are set to enter into service in early 2023, helping improve air quality and reduce car...

Almost 200 Solaris Urbino electric to run in Oslo for Unibuss. The largest e-articulated contract in the bus builder history

Unibuss AS has signed a contract for as many as 183 Urbino 18 electric buses. They’ll be in operation in Oslo. The total value of the contract, concluded as a result of a tender, stands approximately €100 mln euro. It is the largest contract for Solaris for battery articulated vehicles complet...

Scania’s SVP Anna Carmo e Silva appointed head of ACEA bus and coach division. Share of e-buses in European fleet is today 0.9%

The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) has appointed Anna Carmo e Silva – Senior Vice President and Head of Buses and Coaches at Scania – to chair its bus and coach division this year. She succeeds Rudi Kuchta, Head of Bus Business Unit at MAN Truck & Bus, as Chairperson of AC...

Van Hool trambuses for Sweden: 21 vehicles to operate in Malmö for Nobina

Trambuses are ready to run in Swedish city of Malmö under Nobina’s livery. Van Hool has indeed concluded a contract with the largest passenger transport company in Scandinavia for the delivery of 21 battery-electric 24-meter articulated trambuses of the Exqui.City model. The trambuses are expe...

Three web events (and an extra webinar): the Sustainable Bus Tour is ready for its 2022 edition

Building on the first edition held in 2021 with two web events gathering over 2,000 single attendees and 11 partners, the Sustainable Bus Tour is back in 2022 with a schedule made of four webinars that will be pursuing the goal of discussing key issues and outlooks of the public transport sector wit...

Mercedes eCitaro G tested at 2,000 metres in Italy

A fully electric bus Mercedes eCitaro G was tested for the first time on the Alpe di Siusi, in Italy, at an altitude of 2,000 metres. “This is the first ever test of an 18-metre long battery-electric bus for local public transport at this altitude. It is a special moment for zero-emission mobi...

Montpellier scratches the hydrogen bus plan and turns to battery-electric technology (for now). Reason: operating costs

Change of plan in Montpellier: the fuel cell bus project has been scratched, the city now bets on battery-electric buses. A couple years ago Montpellier metropolitan authority sets out the plan to procure around 50 fuel cell buses for deployment between 2023 and 2025. Also the realization of a hydro...

Ebusco lands a new order in Munich: 14 articulated Ebusco 2.2 to join MVG fleet in 2023

Ebusco has received a follow on order from Stadtwerke München. It concerns an order for 14 Ebusco 2.2 18-metre buses. The delivery is scheduled for the first half of 2023. Stadtwerke München already has extensive experience with Ebusco buses. There are currently 12 Ebusco 2.2 12-metre buses in opera...

Iveco Bus turns to Microvast (with FPT) for future electric Crossway battery system

Microvast (with FPT) will provide the complete battery system for the new Crossway Low Entry city and intercity bus produced by Iveco Bus. Microvast will deliver battery cells and modules from its production plants across the globe based on the FPT Industrial project requirements. Subsequently, FPT ...

Karsan, 150 buses (Atak and Jest+) delivered to the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv

One hundred and fifty Karsan Jest+ and Atak Buses Ready to Circle the Streets of Kharkiv, in Ukraine. We explain. Recently Karsan that signed a cooperation agreement with the Ukrainian municipality of Kharkiv for 500 vehicles and delivered 150 vehicles planned for 2021, consisting of 6-meter Jest+ d...

«A completely new concept of vehicle manufacturing». The Arrival project explained by Andrea Finardi, Head of Commercial for Southern Europe

Arrival has been working quite silently for the last six years, conceiving, fine-tuning and developing a project that, if successful, might shake up not only the so-called last mile delivery, but also urban public transport (trials of the bus started recently, ahead of EU certification). It was rath...

Issues are rising with BYD maxi e-bus fleet in the Netherlands. 246 vehicles are going to be checked (again)

Issues are rising (for the second time) with BYD electric bus fleet operating in the Netherlands. The operator Keolis «is going to check all 246 electric buses for the second time and solve problems». The news is reported on specialized Dutch media PV Magazine, and is based on a report by the newspa...

Iveco Group debuts on the stock exchange in Milan. CEO Gerrit Marx: «Committed to transforming our industry»

Today, on the Euronext  Milan, trading in shares of Iveco Group began. The newly listed Group is formed from the demerger of the Commercial and Specialty Vehicles, Powertrain, and related Financial Services businesses from CNH Industrial. In celebration o...

Arrival started trials of the Arrival Bus. It’ll be on market in 2022

Arrival today announced it has started trials of the Arrival Bus at a testing facility in the UK. The vehicles will be going through validation and testing ahead of certification.   “We now look forward to bringing our vehicles, led by the Bus, to the market beginning in 2022, built b...

Scania, the electrification roadmap. «Up to 500 km range achievable within 5 years»

Scania expects «an expanded range of up to 500 km in four to five years» for its portfolio of electric trucks and buses, that today offer a «range of up to 250 km per charge». The Swedish group has released a note explaining its roadmap towards e-mobility. The company offers in its portfolio the ele...

Rome to phase out most polluting buses by 2022. 100 mild hybrid buses just received from Daimler

The mayor of Rome, Roberto Gualtieri, and the councillor for Mobility, Eugenio Patané, accompanied by the director of the municipal operator ATAC, Giovanni Mottura, took part on the 22 December at the delivery cerimony of 70 new mild hybrid buses at the Portonaccio depot (they follow a first batch o...

Barcelona receives first Caetano hydrogen bus

The first of eight state-of-the-art hydrogen fuel cell buses built by CaetanoBus arrived at a Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB) depot this week. At the same time, Iberdrola has already started producing green hydrogen in its Zona Franca plant, where these urban buses will soon be supplied,...

Next Mobility Exhibition to be launched in Milan (October 2022). A new European fair focused on public and collective mobility

Next Mobility Exhibition (NME) will be launched in Milan next year, from 12 to 14 October 2022. It’ll be the kickoff of a brand new format, with biennial appointment, dedicated to the mobility of the future to be held at Fiera Milano. The exhibition, organized by Fiera Milano, will have as par...

Germany, VDV looks for a standard sound for e-buses. Student competition launched by FOAM

The German public transport industry, through the VDV as the industry association, has commissioned the FOAM Institute, which specialises in sound design, to organise a student competition. The aim is to develop, produce and introduce a uniform sound for the Acoustic Vehicle Alerting System (AVAS) f...

25 Ebusco 2.2 e-buses on delivery in Frankfurt and Copenhagen

Ebusco is supplying multiple buses to Transdev in Frankfurt as well as to Nobina in Copenhagen. A total of 25 e-buses model 2.2 is currently on delivery. Recently the King of the Netherlands yesterday officially opened Ebusco new factory hall in Deurne by putting the Ebusco ...

Daimler Truck, Traton and Volvo together to develop a European charging network for e-coaches ed e-trucks

Daimler Truck, Traton and Volvo Group have signed a binding agreement to create an equally owned joint venture «to install and operate a high-performance public charging network for battery electric, heavy-duty long-haul trucks and coaches across Europe», as stated in the press release. Such a (very...

100 Yutong fuel cell buses headed to Beijing

100 Yutong hydrogen buses are bound to Beijing’s public transport operation. 30 fuel cell bus units have been delivered on December 2021. On the same day, the “Batch Delivery and Strategic Cooperation Signing Ceremony for Yutong Group · State Power Investment Corporation Fuel Cell Produc...

BVG to roll out another 90 e-buses. The German Tagesspiegel: «They’ll be Ebusco»

BVG Berlin is procuring a new batch of 90 e-buses. Green light has been given by the company’s supervisory board. The procurement concerns single-deck 12-meter buses with electric drive equipped for plug-in charging. The delivery of all buses is scheduled to take place by the end of 2022. This...

European roadshow for the new e-ATA of Karsan

From Turkey to France, via Romania and Italy. The European roadshow of Karsan’s new all-electric e-ATA range has begun. The new zero-emission, high-range electric buses from Karsan, which is helping to shape public transport in cities across many countries with its range of commercial vehicles...

Daimler Truck listed on Frankfurt Stock Exchange

With an official ceremony held early this morning, Daimler Truck was launched on Frankfurt Stock Exchange. This is the actual completion of the spin-off that separates the truck and bus business from the car and van one. «Our future is in our own hands now», said Martin Daum, Chairman of the Board o...

Volvo electric buses to be offered in Latin American tenders

Volvo Buses is the first European bus manufacturer to become a partner of ZEBRA, a large collaboration launched in 2019 to accelerate the deployment of zero emission buses in major Latin American cities. The agreement will require Volvo Buses to implement a number of activities, including the provis...

Another 50-units trolleybus order in Milan: ATM completes framework agreement with Solaris

ATM Milano is expanding its zero-emission public transport fleet with new Solaris trolleybuses. An order for the supply of 50 Trollino 18 trolleybuses was signed in mid-November 2021. The contract is worth nearly €40 million. The order for 50 Trollino 18 units, placed by operator ATM Milano, is an e...

Hitachi Energy in Abu Dhabi. A partnership with Yinlong Energy and EGME for Grid-eMotion in Middle East

Hitachi Energy and battery manufacturer Yinlong Energy will be partnering with Emirates Global Motor Electric (EGME), part of Al Fahim Group and the regional distributor of Yinlong energy for the Middle East and Africa, to support electric mobility initiatives in Abu Dhabi.  The aim of the part...

TMB Barcelona approves 2025 Strategic Plan. The goal is 65% modal share for public transport

The Boards of Directors of the two main companies of the TMB Group (i.e. Ferrocarril Metropolità de Barcelona, SA, and Transports de Barcelona, SA), have approved the TMB 2025 Strategic Plan, which aims to make the organisation “a reference in public transport and sustainable mobility and to a...

Transdev wins a bus contract in Sydney region. 136 e-buses to be introduced

Transdev John Holland has been awarded Sydney (Australia) Region 9 bus contract from April 2022. Key highlights of the contract will be the introduction of 136 new zero emission battery-electric buses in Region 9, replacing phased-out diesel buses, on top of 10 electric buses which will be introduce...

De Lijn orders 60 e-buses from Van Hool and VDL

The board of directors of De Lijn has approved the order for 60 electric buses from Van Hool and VDL for 36 and 24 units respectively. This order is a next step in De Lijn’s programme to make its entire fleet and accompanying infrastructure emission-free by 2035. The board of directors also ap...

Ebusco 3.0 gets EU Vehicle Type Approval. «First composite-made bus to obtain it»

Ebusco 3.0 has obtained EU Vehicle Type Approval. This certificate means that «the vehicle meets all EU safety, environmental and production requirements, that the bus gets road release and can be registered in all member states of the EU», the Dutch company stresses. To date, Ebusco has supplied 34...

BRIST: axles and transmission for the future of commercial vehicles

The shift to e-mobility is not just a matter of changing a powertrain with another, but gives room to new possibilities in terms of layout, balancing, structure of the vehicles. Based in Montichiari, close to Brescia (Italy), BRIST is a supplier of axles, suspensions and gearboxes with lot of activi...

Solaris places 161 hybrid buses in Wallonie (Belgium)

Solaris has won a tender for the supply of 161 Urbino 12 hybrid buses, together with an 8-year maintenance service. The tender was issued by Opérateur de Transport de Wallonie (OTW), a public transport operator from the French-speaking part of Belgium. The vehicles will make their way to Wallonia in...

Australia, Siemens to power first full-electric bus depot in Queensland with 16 chargers

Queensland’s first all-electric bus depot will soon be a reality with Keolis Downer selecting Siemens to deliver eBus charging solutions to the new North Lakes depot in Brisbane. Operational from September 2022 and in service from February 2023, the depot will power 16 zero-emission buses (the contr...

36 VDL new generation e-buses to operate on Bordeaux first express bus line

Bordeaux Metropole has just selected VDL Bus & Coach for the supply of 36 articulated electric buses Citea new generation on the city’s first Express Bus line between Bordeaux Saint-Jean station and Saint-Aubin de Médoc. «The fast charging technology at the terminals, supplemented by slow ...

Škoda Transportation Group introduced a new electric bus for Prague

The new Škoda E CITY electric bus was presented today at the 10th edition of the Central European fair CZECHBUS, where Sustainable Bus has marked presence.It is a brand new electric bus model from the Škoda Transportation Group. Prague will thus be the first city to operate this modern and environme...

The electric Citymood. Industria Italiana Autobus unveils the e-bus

Industria Italiana Autobus lifts the curtain on its first zero-emission urban bus. The Citymood 12e was presented this morning in Flumeri, in the presence of Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio. Designed and built in Italy, the 12-metre electric bus is powered by a Siemens central electric motor ‘s...

Solaris, Isuzu and MAN win the Sustainable Bus Awards 2022

The fifth edition of the Sustainable Bus Awards has its winners, and they are named Solaris Bus & Coach, Anadolu Isuzu and MAN Truck & Bus. The Solaris Urbino 15 LE Electric is a battery-electric bus that pushes the boundaries of e-mobility out of the city center and into the Class II segmen...

Full electric bus range in 2023, in-house e-axles production by 2024. Iveco Group presents its business strategy

A full electric Iveco bus range is expected in 2023 (the Crossway electrification plan was unveiled recently). In 2024, the goal is to have developed a new full electric and fuel cell heavy range (including in-house production of e-axles). Iveco Group has just presented its Business, Strategy and 20...

CaetanoBus to launch 18m e-buses and FC coaches and other news from Zero Emission Bus Conference 2021 in Paris

CaetanoBus is going to launch the articulated 18m zero emission bus in 2023, said CEO Patrícia Vasconcelos at the European Zero Emission Bus Conference which is taking place today and tomorrow in Paris. CaetanoBus vehicle will be offered both in fuel cell and electric version. And in 2022 the Portug...

Proterra lands on European market for Isuzu electric buses

Turkey-California axis is born. Isuzu and Proterra, in fact, have announced a collaboration for Isuzu’s Citi Volt electric buses, which will be equipped with Proterra’s battery systems. This collaboration marks the entry of the American company in the European public transport market. No...

Here’s North Ireland’s first battery-powered double-decker electric bus for public transport

The UK is one of the European countries, albeit now outside the EU, that is doing the most to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. In this groove is, Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon has unveiled the first of 80 battery electric double decker buses due to be in passenger service in spring 2022, in...

The first Beulas Jewel E (with Equipmake drivetrain) to be in trial operation in London next year

London will witness the debut in operation of the Beulas Jewel E double decker electric bus in early 2022. The bus is equipped with Equipmake’s Zero Emission Drivetrain (ZED), following a partnership announced in September. The first bus will be in in-service trial. Beulas Jewel E electric bus for L...

Balancing inhomogeneities, or why a LFP bus sometimes stops [The Battery Cycle #5]

What is Sudden Depletion Event? Why balancing between cells is crucial? How to preserve SOC in the best possible way? Why it is instrumental to highlight the aspect of proper balancing already during tendering? Welcome to a new article of the Battery Cycle – a series of articles dedicated to demysti...

Flixbus announces: hydrogen long-distance buses on the European network by 2024

Flixbus hydrogen-powered coaches are set to be in operation in Europe by 2024. It’s FlixMobility itself to announce the future milestone. «Diesel buses in the FlixBus fleet can be replaced with fuel cell buses in the future», the German group underlines. The minimum range request is 450 km on ...

40 fuel cell modules for European buses. New order for Ballard from France, Germany, UK

Ballard Power Systems has been commissioned 40 FCmove-HD (70kW) modules for planned deployment in hydrogen fuel cell electric buses across Europe in 2022. These FCEBs are being deployed in France, Germany, and the UK. Nearly 160 hydrogen FCEBs powered by Ballard are now in service across Europe, an ...

24-meter Trollino, here we go! 16 vehicles are set to run in Bratislava (Slovakia)

The first ever 24-metre Solaris trolleybuses to come to market are set to Slovakia. A 16-units order has been commissioned by operator Dopravný Podnik Bratislava. The 24-meter trolleybuses will roll onto the streets of Bratislava within less than two years. The value of...

Arrival launches a Global Service Network Program

Arrival has announced the launch of a Global Service Network Program addressed to customers and aimed at making bus and van repair and maintenance activities simpler and more efficient. The program will be based on Arrival’s digital Service Platform to train and certify any technician to servic...

Ebusco crosses the Atlantic Ocean. Ted Dowling appointed MD North America

Ted Dowling has been appointed Managing Director North America for Ebusco, in the framework of the Dutch company’s expansion on world markets outside Europe. He has formerly covered the position of BYD Regional Vice President. Ebusco makes public it «will expand its sales and marketing of its ...

BYD closes the plant in France. «E-bus orders were not enough»

BYD French e-bus factory will be halted. The Chinese e-bus (and EVs) maker has decided to close the plant, but has underlined that it will still be active in the French market. The news is reported on the French specialized media Bus&Car Connexion. Announced in spring 2017, the plant was suppose...

Stagecoach deploys a fleet of BYD ADL Electric buses for world leaders’ journey at COP26

Dignitaries from around the world, including UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and UN Secretary-General António Guterres, travelled in a fleet of BYD ADL Enviro400EV electric double deck buses during the COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland. ADL collaborated with transport group Stagecoach in providing ten elec...

Van Hool fuel cell buses launched on Brussels’ roads (with Worthington cylindres)

The hydrogen bus that Belgian bus maker Van Hool just delivered to Brussels-based STIB-MIVB, the city’s public transport company, is powered by onboard fueling system and cylinders designed and manufactured by Worthington Industries. This is just the latest development in a long-standing co-innovati...

Rimini’s full electric BRT line is now live. The launch of the Metromare

by Stefano Alfanopictures by Roberto Renzi 82 years after the inauguration of trolleybus line 11, which connects Rimini to Riccione via the coast, another trolleybus line was inaugurated yesterday. It is the Rapid Coastal Transport (TRC), known as Metromare, which connects Rimini Station and Riccion...

Sidney goes electric: the city’s e-bus fleet expands

Sidney is increasingly green, Sidney is increasingly electric. Yes, because the city’s e-bus fleet expands and gets the largest e-depot in Australia. And so do the commuters, seeing more green power on Sidney’s inner-West urban streets via Transit Systems currently operating 15 electric buses – with...

Iveco Bus is launching a full electric version of the Crossway LE (plus mild hybrid option)

Iveco Bus is launching a full electric Crossway Low Entry and is ready to offer mild hybrid modules on Urbanway, Crealis and Crossway Low Entry range. On the Crossway the mild hybrid solution will be offered also combined with gas-drive. The mild hybrid module will be available to order by the end o...

Siemens charging technology for Australian zero-emission e-buses

Siemens’ charging technology infrastructure for eco-friendly buses made in Australia. Yes, because the Australian manufacturer Custom Denning has chosen Siemens electric bus charging stations and digital depot management solution for  its fleet of fully Australian designed and built Element el...

‘Hydrogen buses. Their time is… now?’: video & presentations of the webinar available!

A picture of the development of hydrogen technology in public transport, and an informed view on future scenarios. These were the goals pursued by the webinar “Hydrogen buses. Their time is… now?”, organized within the Sustainable Bus Tour 2021 and broadcasted Thursday 14th October...

The bus fleet is under electrification, Basel selects ABB charging technology

ABB will enable the transition to sustainable e-bus operations in the city of Basel by 2027 as part of a large order awarded by Industrielle Werke Basel (IWB). The contract is part of Basel Public Transport’s (BVB) efforts to convert its entire bus fleet to battery-electric operations. In one ...

CNH Industrial shuts down temporarily plants in Europe due to components’ shortage

CNH Industrial just announced that it will temporarily close “several of its European agricultural, commercial vehicle and powertrain manufacturing facilities in response to ongoing disruptions to the procurement environment and shortages of core components, especially semiconductors”. CNH Industria...

Hitachi Energy sees the light today. The rebranding is concluded

Hitachi Energy is, from today, the new brand name of the formerly known Hitachi ABB Power Grids. The business has renewed its Purpose to «advancing a sustainable energy future for all». New brand was announced in summer 2021. Through its Sustainability 2030 strategic plan, Hitachi Ene...

Île-de-France Mobilités turns to Van Hool, Kiepe Electric and Alstom for a fleet of 24-meter bi-articulated e-buses (ground charged)

Île-de-France Mobilités turns to the ‘alliance’ between Van Hool, Kiepe Electric and Alstom for the delivery of a batch of 24-meter bi-articulated e-buses. They’ll be ’employed’ on two new BRT lines and will be the first 100% electric vehicles of such size in the Île-de...

Fire in SBB Stuttgart’s depot «could have been caused by e-bus charging». MVG Munich takes 8 e-buses out of service

A large fire event in Stuttgarter Straßenbahnen (SBB)’s depot, in Gaisberg, destroyed 25 buses on Thursday 30th September. A few days ago, a first assessment by the police, reported on many German media, said that the fire could have been caused by an electric bus during charging procedure. As...

Ebusco to go public. The Dutch company targets to raise €300 million

Ebusco announces intention to launch Initial Public Offering and admission to listing on Euronext Amsterdam. Through the IPO the company targets to raise approximately €300 million as gross proceeds. The net proceeds of the IPO will mainly be used to fund investments in Ebusco’s international ...

Electric turn in Karnataka (India): 1,500 e-buses in the next three years

One thousand five hundred electric buses in the next three years. A turn in the name of electricity and sustainability for Bengaluru, capital of the Indian state of Karnataka: the local government is ready to purchase 1,500 e-buses over the next three years for local public transport. The administra...

Daimler truck and bus business spin-off approved today at shareholders’ meeting

Daimler truck and bus business spin-off: today, at the virtual Extraordinary General Meeting of Daimler AG (ticker symbol DAI), the shareholders decided by an overwhelming majority on the historic realignment of the company. The spin-off of the truck and bus business (announced in early 2021) and th...

A fleet of 16 e-buses operated by Keolis to conquer the Australian roads

Sixteen new electric buses operated Keolis to serve about 60 thousand residents, in the name of the fight against carbon dioxide emissions and sustainable mobility. It’s happening in Australia’s Queensland, where the state’s transport and highways division has commissioned Keolis D...

Iveco Group’s logo unveiled. Spin-off from CNH to be completed in early 2022

The new Iveco Group is ready to take off following the spin-off from CNH Industrial that is set to take place in early 2022. The logo has been unveiled today. The bus business of the new group will be managed by Domenico Nucera, with Gerrit Marx as group’s CEO. «The color grey evokes a sense [...

Time for a European roadshow for eVersum eTrain. Austrian startup has a battery supply deal with Microvast

It’s time for a roadshow in Slovenia, Spain and Austria for the eTrain developed by Austrian startup eVersum. The company is ready to present its innovative applications in several European markets. The first prototype launched in operation is the eShuttle. eVersum is active in the manufacturi...

Volvo BZL Electric e-bus chassis range launched (with double-decker model)

Volvo BZL Electric is the name of the new battery-electric bus chassis range launched by the Swedish manufacturer and focused on Australian, Mexican and British markets. With this new launch, Volvo is now able to offer a battery-electric bus chassis to the UK, therefore debuting as a new player in a...

Karsan electric bus range goes now from 6 to 18m. Karsan e-ATA range launched

Karsan e-ATA electric bus range has been launched: 10, 12 and 18-meter vehicles have been presented today during an online event: now the e-bus range from the Turkish manufacturer ranges from 6 to 18 meters, being 6-meter and 8-meter Karsan Jest Electric and Karsan Atak Electric already in productio...

Wrightbus unveils the single deck ZE buses GB Kite Hydroliner and GB Kite Electroliner

Wrightbus GB Kite Hydroliner and GB Kite Electroliner. Besides the double decker buses (BEV and FCEV), now Wrightbus is launching a couple of single deck vehicles, also based on battery-electric and fuel cell driveline. Both vehicles are expected to go into production in the first quarter of 2022. W...

Electric bus market on a rise, MAN: «We expect half of our new city bus sales to be alternative drive by 2025»

Sales of electric buses in the EU increased by 18.4% year on year from 2019 to 2020, according to ACEA’s figures. By contrast, the proportion of diesel engines fell by almost 10% in that time. “Overall, the European market for electric buses was more than 2,000 vehicles last year. And th...

Equipmake and Beulas join forces for an electric double decker with up to 543 kWh

Electric powertrain experts Equipmake and Spanish bus builder Beulas introduce Jewel E, a full electric double decker bus with claimed range of up to 250 miles. Battery capacity can reach (optionally) 543 kWh. The new electric double decker (which is the electric variant of Beulas Jewel model) will ...

National Express in talks to buy Stagecoach

National Express is in talks to buy Stagecoach. The takeover would result in a all-share deal to create a business with a fleet of 36,000 buses and coaches. The news has been confirmed by National Express itself, and is widely reported on the UK press. Stagecoach would be valued at about £445m, repr...

All new London buses to be zero emission, Mayor Sadiq Khan announces. Full electrification by 2034

Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has announced that all new buses ordered by Transport for London (TfL) for the capital will now be zero-emission. 950 zero-emission buses are already on the road or on order in London. With the market now more mature and expanding in the UK, TfL can guarantee that it wil...

NewMAN strategy launched, MAN focuses on ZE, autonomous and digital mobility (and announces a new battery option for e-bus)

MAN Truck & Bus launches NewMAN strategy, a corporate plan focused on zero emission mobility, autonomous vehicles and digital solutions. In a press note, the Munich-based group underlines that the company «is focusing on zero-emission technologies in its role as a “smart innovator”, with a parti...

Hydrogen buses in the spotlight at next Sustainable Bus Tour’s webinar (14th October)

The opportunities, challenges and outlooks related to fuel cell bus adoption will be put under the spotlight at the second and last webinar of the Sustainable Bus Tour 2021, which will be live broadcasted on 14th October at 3 p.m. CEST, entitled: ‘Hydrogen buses. Their time is... now?’.

Public transport, ING paper shows that recovery is underway in Europe. With UK and NL lagging behind

Public transport in Europe show clear signs of recovery. But rates are uneven: «Traffic in Switzerland, Germany and France is close to pre-virus levels, being just about 10% down. Passenger volumes in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom are still significantly lower, by around 25 t...

Quantron to launch a 12-meter electric bus model by the end of the year (with Ev Dynamics)

Quantron is set to launch an electric 12-metre low-floor bus named Quantron 12. The news is reported on electrive.com. Two versions of the model will be offered: one battery-electrically powered (available from end 2021), while the fuel cell one is set to be on market from spring 2022. Still accordi...

Iveco announces a new record mileage for the E-Way: 543 on a single charge

543 km in 48 hourse on a single charge. It’s the record mileage reached by an Iveco E-Way operated in Germany by Verkerhrsbetriebe Bachstein (based in Lower Saxony). The performance has been certified by TÜV Nord, Iveco Bus points out. Carried out on the initiative of the company Verkerhrsbetr...

75 MAN Lion’s City articulated e-buses headed to Gothenburg and Stockholm

Keolis Sweden has ordered 75 MAN Lion’s City 18 E for operations in Gothenburg and Stockholm. Delivery is planned from Q2 to Q4 2022. Keolis has also added an option for an additional 75 buses for delivery in 2022 and 2023. The first order for MAN electric bus was also coming from Sweden. This is [&...

Ebusco selected by Transdev among the e-bus manufacturers to compete for orders

Ebusco has been awarded a five-year international framework agreement with Transdev for the delivery of electric buses. Under this international framework agreement, Ebusco will be eligible to be a primary supplier to Transdev in France, Germany and the Netherlands where the public transport company...

Darmstadt (Germany) towards an 80% electric fleet by 2025. 24 eCitaro just deployed

HEAG mobilo, a transport operator in Darmstadt (Germany), is planning to replace almost its entire bus fleet with vehicles that are 100 percent electrically driven in the next four years. On 27 August 2021, 24 fully-electric Mercedes eCitaro city buses officially began operations. This marks the fir...

First order for ADL 2nd generation fuel cell bus Enviro400FCEV. 20 units headed to Liverpool

Liverpool City Region is first to select ADL’s H2.0 second-generation hydrogen bus (named ADL Enviro400FCEV) with order for 20 double deckers. The Enviro400FCEV is powered by a Ballard fuel cell power module through the Voith Electrical Drive System (the same drive adopted by Wrightbus). The ne...

ChargePoint takes over Dutch e-fleets telematics company ViriCiti

ChargePoint, a leading electric vehicle charging network operating in North America and Europe, today announced it acquired ViriCiti, a leading provider of electrification solutions for eBus and commercial fleets.  ChargePoint acquired ViriCiti for a total purchase price of approximately €75 mi...

Zürich: when it comes to depot management system, VBZ turns to PSI

Verkehrsbetriebe Zürich (VBZ) has commissioned PSI Transcom GmbH to implement the depot management system PSItraffic/DMS. In the future, the new system will monitor and control around 240 buses and 260 streetcars in a total of eight garages and depots across all operations. In addition, almost ...

First Bus looks at the future of bus in the UK. An operator’s perspective on the National Bus Strategy

At First Bus, and across the industry, the NBS was warmly welcomed, as was the £3 billion financial commitment from the Government that it promised. If the sector works effectively together and is given what it needs by the government, we believe that the strategy could be fundamental in supporting ...

Switch Mobility partners with Dana (minority shareholder and e-drivetrain provider)

Dana invests in Switch Mobility and becomes the company’s e-drivetrains supplier. Switch Mobility, subsidiary of Ashok Leyland, has signed a strategic agreement with Dana Incorporated (Dana). Formal launch of Switch Mobility was announced in July 2021. Andy Palmer (former Aston Martin boss) ha...

RATP signs contracts with Bluebus, Irizar and Iveco for up to 451 e-buses. Also MAN and Solaris awarded

Paris, a second round of contracts – following a second maxi tender (the first one was awarded in 2019 for 400 million euros and a potential of 800 e-buses) – has been signed by RATP with electric bus manufacturers in order to achieve the goal of transitioning a consistent part of the Pa...

Bluebus to deliver up to 158 e-buses in Paris by 2023

Bluebus is expected to deliver up to 158 electric buses in Paris, following the maxi tender awarded in 2019 and the 2021 framework agreement just signed for a maximum period of 4 years. The French company won the tender together with Heuliez Bus / Iveco and Alstom. Earlier this year, also in the fra...

Irizar awarded 113 e-buses in Paris

Irizar e-mobility has signed an agreement with the RATP (La Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens) to supply as many as 113 electric buses in Paris. They will be new generation Irizar ie bus model 100% zero emissions electric buses. Irizar is staying firmly committed to the French market. In 2016,...

The Financial Times opens up a debate around H2 buses in Tokyo. «Fuel costs 2.6 times higher over diesel»

One hundred Toyota hydrogen buses are running around Olympic Tokyo. But costs are an issue. As the Financial Times points out, «A fuel cell bus from Toyota costs ¥100m ($900,000) for a six-year lease. A diesel bus costs ¥24m ($220,000) and has a useful life of 15 years». Fuel cell buses during the O...

Ebusco 3.0, its time will come in 2022. First buses in operation in the Netherlands for Transdev

In spring 2022, Ebusco will supply the very first fully-composite, electric buses in the Netherlands. Transdev Nederland has ordered 39 Ebusco 3.0 buses, the manufacturer says, for their city and intercity routes in the Gooi and Vecht region (also 28 VDL e-buses are going into operations). Delivery ...

Anaheim to deploy 5 Arrival electric buses (it’s the first order worldwide for the manufacturer)

Anaheim, in California, has turned to Arrival for the supply of five electric buses. It’s the first deal in the US – and the first deal at all – for the Arrival Bus. In partnership with the City of Anaheim, the Anaheim Transportation Network (ATN) has been awarded a two-million-dol...

Canada, Halifax: 60 e-buses to be procured, full electrification of the bus fleet by 2028

The governments of Canada and Nova Scotia are investing in e-buses and charging infrastructures with the goal of kicking off the electrification of Halifax transit bus fleet. 60 zero emissions vehicles are expected. The municipality is pursuing full electrification of the bus fleet (340 vehicles) by...

De Lijn (Belgium) ready to order 44 plug-in hybrid buses (and to convert 280 hybrid buses into e-hybrids)

De Lijn is ready to order 44 plug-in hybrid buses and to upgrade 280 hybrid buses into e-hybrid vehicles. The Flemish Mobility minister Lydia Peeters commented: “Together with De Lijn we make giant step towards emission-free public transport”, as quoted in a press note from the the cabinet of Flemis...

BYD ADL to deliver up to 200 e-buses to Ireland’s NTA

Alexander Dennis Limited and BYD UK have signed a framework agreement with the National Transport Authority of Ireland (NTA) for the delivery of up to 200 BYD ADL Enviro200EV zero emission battery-electric buses. An initial firm order for 45 buses was agreed at the same time, with delivery commencin...

Three fuel cell DD buses launched in Dublin

In Ireland, the National Transport Authority (NTA) in conjunction with Bus Éireann has recently unveiled three new hydrogen double-deck buses that will initially be used on commuter services in the Greater Dublin Area. The three fuel cell buses were recently purchased by the NTA and are servicing on...

Akasol chosen by Van Hool as battery supplier for new city e-bus model

New battery supply agreement for Akasol in the bus world. The German company announces a new deal signed with a «major bus and commercial vehicle manufacturer from Belgium» with a total volume in the mid-double-digit million euro range. Although not directly mentioned, the manufacturer should be Van...

Go-Ahead Group to become a carbon neutral company by 2045

Go-Ahead’s entire fleet of 5,000 UK buses will be converted to zero emission vehicles by 2035. It’s just one of the pillars of the company’s strategy to reach carbon neutrality by 2045. The Go-Ahead Group sets out a strategy to lead the transport industry in carbon reduction by achieving...

Netherlands, zero emission bus concession Gooi and Vecht launched. Since 2022 Ebusco and VDL vehicles on the road

In the Netherlands, the Province of North Holland has launched the first emission-free bus concession in the country, operated by Transdev (formerly operating under the name Connexxion). Zero emission buses from VDL and from Ebusco (that will be delivering the 3.0 model) are expected to be on the ro...

Siemens to power Bernmobil electric bus network

Siemens has been awarded a contract by Bernmobil, the Swiss capital’s public transport company, to supply charging infrastructure solutions for the operation of 14 new electric buses (they are going to be delivered by Irizar e-mobility). These are to be deployed on Lines 19 and 21 beginning in early...

Toyota brand debuts on European e-bus market. CaetanoBus vehicles to be co-branded

Toyota brand is set to debut in the European e-bus market. Zero-emission buses manufactured by CaetanoBus in Portugal will indeed be co-branded with Toyota, the two companies outline today in a press note. CaetanoBus and Toyota strengthened their strategic alliance in December 2020, when a strategic...

Bern and Lichtenstein bet on Irizar e-buses: a total of 18 units to be delivered

Irizar e-mobility together with its partner in Switzerland Jebsen & Jessen Industrial Solutions Schweiz AG is going to supply a total of 18 buses with operators Bernmobil and BUS Ostschweiz in Switzerland and Lichtenstein respectively. Irizar electric bus contracts in Bern and Lichtenstein The S...

GVB Amsterdam to provide zero emission transport from 2025 onwards. 44 further VDL Citea Electric ordered

The VDL electric bus fleet operated in Amsterdam city transport by GVB is going to be enriched with 44 articulated vehicles. These are scheduled for delivery in early 2022. Today the VDL e-bus ‘contribution’ in GVB fleet is made of 31 Citea electric. Amsterdam is working to further reduc...

Genoa, turn of events: Alfabus out, Solaris in. 30 e-buses to be built in Bolechowo

Unexpected turn of events in Genoa (Italy): according to leaks reported on the Italian magazine AUTOBUS, public transport operator AMT Genova has cancelled the awarding of the 30 e-bus tender to the Chinese manufacturer Alfabus. This leaves the first place to Solaris, which had come second in the fi...

Ashok Leyland’s arm Switch Mobility launched. Former Aston Martin boss Andy Palmer is the new CEO

Switch Mobility announced its formal launch on July 2nd 2021. Behind the name lies the new electrified commercial vehicles group backed by the Indian Hinduja Group. Switch Mobility combines the electric commercial vehicle operations of Ashok Leyland and the former bus manufacturer Optare company (a ...

Wrightbus unveils the battery-electric StreetDeck Electroliner. With extra-slim batteries and pantograph charging option

Not only fuel cell buses: Wrightbus portfolio is ready to feature also the battery-electric double decker bus StreetDeck Electroliner. The product launch has been announced by the Northern Ireland-based manufacturer a few days ago. It joins the hydrogen bus Streetdeck FCEV, announced in late 2018 an...

Moscow will no more buy diesel buses for public transport

By the end of 2021 there will be 1,000 electric buses in operation onto Moscow’s roads. For 2.5 years of operation, electric buses have already traveled more than 40 million kilometers and carried more than 90 million passengers. “Starting this year, by the decision of the Mayor of Moscow, we ...

The first biogas coaches (from Iveco and Scania) to be launched in Europe by Flixbus.

The first long distance coaches running on biogas will operate the Stockholm-Oslo and the Amsterdam-Brussels routes. In a collaboration between Scania and Iveco, mobility provider Flixbus and gas supplier Gasum, the gas-powered coaches are expected to reduce climate impact and contribute to a fossil...

Jo Bamford: «It’s not the bus. The issue is on infrastructure». Here H2 technology has cards to play. Our interview

«It’s not the bus, which is a mean to an end. The issue is how to power the bus, how to organize the infrastructures around the depots. This is the big planning exercise». Take Jo Bamford words for it. He is chairman and owner of Wrightbus, the North Irish bus manufacturer on the verge of bankruptcy...

Edinburgh, an electric bus fleet funded by SP Energy Networks

Lothian Buses’ first four BYD ADL Enviro400EV electric double deckers are funded as a flagship project of SP Energy Networks’ £20m Green Economy Fund. SP Energy Networks is part of the ScottishPower group, a Principal Partner for the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) to be held in Gla...

Hitachi Europe partners with Shenzhen Bus Group. Goal: decarbonization of European bus industry decarbonization

Planning services, change management, training programmes jointly offered by an infrastructure provider together with a public transport company with large expertise in the deployment of zero emission buses. Hitachi Europe, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi, and the Chinese Shenzhen Bus Group (SZ...

Zaragoza and Avanza turns to Irizar e-mobility: 68 e-buses ordered

Zaragoza City Council and Avanza turns to Irizar e-mobility electric buses to renew their public transport bus fleet. A total of 68 units, 51 of 12 metres and the remaining 17 articulated vehicles, will be purchased.  These buses will be rolled out into service gradually, from the final semester of ...

Bernmobil goes with Irizar: 14 articulated e-buses ordered in Switzerland

Swiss operator Bernmobil has awarded Irizar e-mobility a contract to supply 14 battery-powered articulated buses. These vehicles are to be used on routes 19 and 21 from the beginning of 2023 and will reduce CO2 emissions by a further 1,200 tonnes per year, Bernmobil states in a press note. At the sa...

Canada, Ottawa will put on the road 450 e-buses by 2027 (with CIB investing $400M)

The Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) commits up to $400 million in the City of Ottawa’s 450 zero-emission bus expansion. Such pledge stands out for being the largest-ever single increase in zero-emission buses for public transit in Canada. The CIB and the City of Ottawa, Canada capital city, are pro...

Trolleybuses in Italy, many projects on the launching pad. Kiepe Electric at the forefront

Rimini’s Metromare is switching gear, the supply of new-generation trolleybuses to ATM Milano has been completed, while other vehicles are making their debut in service in Emilia-Romagna region. The first half of 2021 in Italy has been anything but dull as far as trolleybus projects are concer...

ADL Enviro500EV CHARGE: the DD electric bus for North America (without BYD)

Alexander Dennis has unveiled its first zero-emissions double deck bus for North America. The Enviro500EV CHARGE for North America, 13.7-meter long, is an outcome of the takeover of the UK-based manufacturer by NFI Group, as the vehicle joins NFI portfolio of zero emission buses. The ‘CHARGE&#...

Hitachi – Arrival: a partnership to deliver e-buses and infrastructures in Europe

Hitachi Europe and Arrival have partnered to deliver new bus and infrastructure solutions to the European bus industry. The non-exclusive partnership combines Hitachi’s digital and operational capabilities with Arrival’s products, which have the goal of being competitive in price with fossil fuel al...

ZE bus sales forecast to rise to 83% of the global market by 2040, BloombergNEF EVO 2021 says

600,000 e-buses on the road globally today (39% of new sales and 16% of the global fleet). 98% of e-bus sold in 2020 were in China, but by 2025, electric bus sales outside of China are expected to hit 14,000, up from 5,000 in 2020. «Buses and two- and three-wheelers are the biggest near-term opportu...

E-bus delivery in Barcelona. 9 Irizar and 14 Solaris ready for line H16

Nine Irizar zero-emission electric buses will start to operate shortly in the city of Barcelona on line H16 (Pg. Zona Franca – Fòrum Campus Besòs). These units are in addition to the four Irizar buses that have been operating in the City since 2019. With the entry into service of the new ...

VDV, Werner Overkamp: «We expect 1,000 e-buses put in operation yearly». Issues and outlooks in German public transport

Something is happening in the largest bus market in Europe. It looks like the German electric bus market switched gear last year. We discussed with Werner Overkamp, Vice President of the VDV (the Association of German Transport Companies) and Chairman of the Board of Management of the Division Bus,...

First Bus bets on Glasgow to set up UK’s largest EV charging hub (for 300 e-buses)

First Bus has chosen Glasgow to transform a bus depot into UK’s largest EV charging hub. There will be space to charge up to 300 EV buses on site. The project, partially funded by Scottish Ultra-Low Emission Bus (SULEB), will see over 150 EV charging units installed at depot. Phase One of the ...

De Lijn to procure 350 electric buses. Tender expected shortly

350 e-buses up for grabs in Belgium, where public transport company De Lijn is about to issue a tender with value up to 230 million euros (vehicles + charging infrastructures). 60 vehicles are expected to be operation within 2021, according to report on The Brussels Times. Flemish carrier has been h...

Fast chargers are underutilized in a quarter of opportunity charging sessions, ViriCiti finds

Around a quarter of all opportunity charging sessions start when the battery is already over 80% charged, according to the latest industry report released by ViriCiti. According to a previously released study, ViriCiti found that accessories consume 28% of e-bus energy. The Dutch telematics company ...

Aarhus, Denmark: 29 e-buses launched

29 new Volvo 7900 Electric Articulated have just been put in operation in Aarhus in Denmark. The second biggest city in Denmark is the latest of several cities to implement electric buses on a larger scale. In June 2020 the six largest Danish municipalities set a commitment to buy only zero emission...

VDL new electric bus range revealed. Up the curtain on the Citea new generation

Today VDL Bus & Coach unveiled the VDL Citea new generation during a web event addressed at specialized press. According to the information previously released, the new product family is the outcome of a new concept entirely developed on an electric driveline. And, for the first time, it will ho...

NAVETTY R&D project launched: autonomous shuttle in Paris industrial site

A three-year demonstration called NAVETTY is starting on the ArianeGroup industrial French site in west of Paris. Theproject is supported by VEDECOM – R&D institute for energy transition in mobility-, ArianeGroup, public transport company branch Transdev Autonomous Transport Systems, auton...

Gillig scores a 44 e-bus contract in Utah (and up to 139)

The Utah Transit Authority (UTA) and Park City Transit have awarded GILLIG a $44.2 million contract for 44 battery electric buses, with an option of 95 additional buses over five years. The contract includes 16 plug-in charging systems and four high-power on-route chargers. E-buses headed to Ogden B...

BYD in Turin, once again. The beginning of a 50-units delivery

BYD has started the delivery of the 50-units e-bus order secured in Turin (Italy). It is part of a framework agreement for 100 e-buses. This latest major fleet order for BYD comes as a result of its long-established partnership with GTT – Turin’s principal Public Transport Operator – since first sup...

Basel orders 62 e-buses: eight 25-meter awarded to HESS (besides the 54 eCitaro)

25-meter new electric buses are set to be in operation in Basel. The Swiss bus manufacturer Hess has been awarded a part of the international electric bus tender issued by Basel operator BVB (Basler Verkehrs-Betriebe) in Switzerland. In the framework of the same tender, 54 vehicles have been awarded...

BYD ADL delivered in London the 500th electric bus from the Enviro EV range

The 500th BYD ADL electric bus has reached its destination, namely the Go-Ahead London fleet for Transport for London. Orders for the next 500 BYD ADL electric buses have already been confirmed for public transport operators across the UK, the producers say. BYD and ADL combine their strengths to of...

The MAN Lion’s City E achieves 550 km range on a 24h test

550 km on a single charge. It’s the result achieved by the Lion’s City E 12 on a test monitored by TÜV SÜD, as announced by the manufacturer in a press note. MAN Truck & Bus expects that by 2025 half of all new MAN city buses will run on alternative drive technologies. In order [&hel...

State of Charge: a boring topic? [The Battery Cycle #3]

Below, a contribution fromClaudius Jehle, CEO of volytica diagnostics GmbH*.It’s the third of a series of knowledge articles (a cycle, indeed) on a series of topics around Li-Ion Batteries,written by  Claudius and other field-related experts.Feedbacks, questions and contributions...

SASA Bolzano launches 12 Solaris hydrogen buses, to be powered with filling station within the depot

SASA Bolzano has inaugurated its batch of 12 new Solaris Urbino hydrogen, that will be powered thanks to a hydrogen filling station installed within the public transport company’s depot. Thanks to this latest supply, the Italian city features today one of the largest fuel cell bus fleets in Eu...

A new e-BRT saw the light in France. Seven Irizar ie tram under Keolis’ operations

Keolis has launched a second 100% electric Bus Rapid Transit line on the Basque Coast, in France. The e-BRT was inaugurated on 26th April 2021 and it’s part of the Chronoplus transport network, linking Tarnos to Bayonne, in the south-west of France, on behalf of the Basque Country Public Trans...

Electric buses in Germany, the acquisition of 3,100 new units is already planned, PwC says

676 e-buses were in operation in Germany at the end of 2020 (over half of them were registered in 2020). And the purchase of further 3,100 e-buses is already planned. And there are already concrete, publicly known plans for a further almost 4,800 e-buses. Such figures are collected in the lately pub...

Zenobe Energy with McGill’s: three electric depots to be implemented for 68 e-buses

The implementation of three electric bus depots is the outcome of the cooperation established in Scotland by Zenobe Energy with McGill’s. The partnership will see the implementation of three fully electric bus depots, servicing Dundee and the wider Glasgow areas of Inchinnan and Johnstone. The opera...

Enel X launches its e-bus charging platform in Australia

Enel X enters the Australian market bringing to the country its e-bus charging platform. Enel X will then work with public transport authorities and bus operators that are replacing traditional diesel buses with cleaner and more sustainable electric buses.  The Enel X e-bus platform «includes advanc...

Alexander Schabert, ViriCiti: bus fleet monitoring towards an electric future

Alexander Schabert is Co-founder & CCO at ViriCiti, a Dutch telematics company founded in 2012 that shortly became a market leader in fleet monitoring solutions in the United States and Europe, with over 3,500 buses and chargers connected to its platform. ViriCiti is sponsor of the Sustainable B...

Welcome Cellcentric: Daimler – Volvo joint venture’s strategy on H2 unveiled

Yesterday Daimler Truck AG and Volvo Group officially outlined the strategy beyond the fuel cell joint venture Cellcentric, first announced in april 2020. The roadmap is part of an industry-first commitment to accelerate the use of hydrogen-based fuel cells for long-haul trucks and beyond (also long...

eCitaro battery packs to live a 2nd life as energy storage for trams

Daimler Buses has in fact partnered with the GUW+ model project: in a new rectifier substation operated by ÜSTRA Hannoversche Verkehrsbetriebe AG, a stationary energy storage unit has been implemented which uses battery systems previously installed in fully electric eCitaro urban buses. The developm...

Solaris takes the lion’s share in EMT Madrid tender for CNG buses. E-buses awarded to Irizar and BYD

EMT Madrid has awarded the tender for the purchase of 520 new CNG buses with planned deliveries for the years 2021, 2022 and 2023, as well as the tender for the purchase of 50 new electric buses. CNG buses have been awarded to Solaris, Scania and Evobus, while e-bus contract were signed with Irizar ...

Altas: Ignas Pranskevičius succeeds Edvardas Radzevicius as CEO

Altas Auto announces that Edvardas Radzevicius, who has served as CEO for 23 years, will step down from his position and move to a role on the company’s board of directors. Ignas Pranskevičius, an experienced management professional, will take over as CEO. Radzevicius explained that the leader...

Daimler Buses’ Omniplus opens in North Rhine-Westphalia its 100th eBus service centre

Daimler Buses has opened its 100th eBus service centre for the Omniplus service brand in Lemgo, North Rhine-Westphalia, in the premises of AHL GmbH & Co. KG, a location of the Beresa Group. The center specialises in the maintenance and repair of the all-electric Mercedes eCitaro buses. 100 Omnip...

Flix appoints Benjamin Gubitz as CFO. Christoph Debus joins Supervisory Board

On 9th January Flix has announced a change in the line-up of its top management: Benjamin Gubitz will become the company’s new Chief Financial Officer (CFO), succeeding to Christoph Debus, who is to become the new CEO of the DERTOUR Group and will join Flix’s Supervisory Board as of March 1st. &#822...

Arriva is tendering 10 mini and midi e-buses in Italy

Arriva Italy, on 31 December 2024, has published a call for tenders (expiring on 31 January) for the supply of 10 electric buses and option for a further 10, divided into two lots. They are headed to the area of Cremona, in northern Italy. The news is reported on Italian trade media (and our sister ...

CaetanoBus has delivered EMT Madrid’s first 10 electric hydrogen-powered buses

CaetanoBus has delivered EMT Madrid‘s first 10 electric hydrogen-powered buses in late December. The buses were presented as ready to start operations in the Spanish capital. CaetanoBus states it has sold over 200 fuel cell buses so far to various European cities in Europe, mainly in Germany, ...