TPER Bologna gets 7 (+20) VDL e-buses. «Our maiden voyage with electric buses»

TPER Bologna (Italy) has taken its first step in the transformation of the city’s public transport system (after the deployment of two short Iveco e-buses) with the purchase of 7 VDL Citeas. This marks the start of a long-term partnership between TPER and VDL Bus & Coach, which could see the introduction of 20 electric bus vehicles.

The delivery of 7 SLF-120 Electric Citeas to TPER in Bologna is VDL Bus & Coach’s second e- mobility project in Italy; in May last year, it provided two electric Citeas to shuttle between the car parks and terminals of Milan Malpensa Airport.

Bologna: our maiden voyage with e-buses

The VDL Citeas will hit the streets of Bologna in 2022. As the capital of Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region, Bologna is in the top ten largest cities in Italy with almost 400,000 inhabitants. The new VDL Citeas will run on Bologna’s bus lines 28 and T1. This is a pivotal project for VDL Bus & Coach, which is responsible for the delivery of the vehicles and the implementation of the charging infrastructure. The SLF-120 Electric Citeas have a 350-kWh battery pack and 31+2 seats, with further capacity for 49 standing passengers. The TPER depot will contain chargers so that 3 buses can be charged simultaneously. VDL Bus & Coach is collaborating with Heliox.

“Cities in Italy are increasingly making the transition to sustainable public transport”, says Massimiliano Costantini, Managing Director of VDL Bus & Coach Italia. “We are proud that TPER has called on our expertise as a frontrunner in e-mobility in Europe. Our electric buses have covered more than 125 million kilometres, which is a clear indicator of our competence. This order strengthens our foothold in the market, which speaks to our ambition to play a major role in Italy’s transition to zero-emission public transport.”

Andrea Bottazzi, Manager of Automotive Maintenance and Logistics of TPER, says: “We have great ambitions to make public transport more sustainable and acquire zero-emission vehicles. We have past experience with electric mini-buses which had a battery range of up to 100 kilometres, but this is our maiden voyage with electric buses. We were looking for a reliable, experienced partner, particularly in the field of charging infrastructure, and as such we are delighted that VDL Bus & Coach won the tender. We look forward to the cooperation and the arrival of the buses in Bologna.”