Strasbourg welcomes the first Alstom Aptis in real operations

The first announcements from Alstom date back to spring 2017. Launch of the Aptis followed at Busworld 2017. In March 2019 the first order. At Busworld 2019 the public had the chance to see and touch the first series vehicle. Now the time for deliveries has started. Alstom is handing over the very first electric Aptis bus to Strasbourg transport operator Compagnie des Transports Strasbourgeois (CTS).

Following the groundbreaking delivery, CTS will train 150 drivers in the operation of the new vehicles. During this initial training phase, the bus will run on the streets of Strasbourg with the iconic livery that the Aptis fleet will adopt when in high-level service on the H line. With a length of 12 metres and equipped with 3 doors, Aptis buses were designed at the Hangenbieten Eurométropolis. They are the first electric buses to join CTS’s fleet of vehicles.

Alstom Aptis in Strasbourg. Innovative design

Thanks to its innovative design, Aptis features a berthing system for perfect alignment with the pavement (thanks to 4-wheel steering). The low, completely flat floor and wide double doors allow easy movement and convenient boarding for people with reduced mobility and prams. Equipped with large bay windows along its entire length, Aptis offers 25% more glass surface area than a standard bus and a rear seating area with panoramic views of the city.

The Alstom Aptis vehicles for Strasbourg are designed for slow charging at night at the depot. Aptis is also available for occasional recharging at the end of each line, using either ground-based charging solutions (SRS) or pantograph charging, Alston points out.

Alstom Aptis to operate in Strasbourg and other French cities

Aptis has already been chosen by Paris in the context of Europe’s largest call for tender for electric buses, as well as by the cities of Grenoble, La Rochelle and Toulon. As of September 2018, Aptis is also referenced by the CATP for public purchasing by local authorities. This referencing allows member authorities to order Aptis vehicles directly and simply from the CATP without having to embark on long and costly procedures.

Aptis also received the Origine France Garantie in January 2019. The certificate guarantees that at least 50% of Aptis’s value is French.

Design, production and testing will be carried out at Aptis Alstom’s site of Hangenbieten, in Alsace. Six other Alstom sites in France are involved in the design and manufacture of Aptis: Reichshoffen for the flanks, Saint-Ouen for the system integration, Tarbes for the traction, Ornans for the motors and Villeurbanne for the electronic components of the traction chain. Finally, Alstom’s site in Vitrolles is developing one of the charging solutions (SRS).

“This is a great moment for Alstom. We are proud to be delivering the group’s first-ever bus to Strasbourg, as it was the first city to trust us, and is located only a few kilometres from our production site,” said Jean-Baptiste Eyméoud, Senior Vice President of Alstom in France.