SWEDEN Volvo Buses is supplying 25 hybrid buses for Göteborgs Spårvägar (Gothenburg Tramways), bringing the number of hybrid buses Volvo has sold to Nordic countries to 100. They are expected the enter service in the company’s hometown later this year.
Leif Blomqvist, chairman of the board of Västtrafik, the agency responsible for public transport services in Gothenburg, said: “The hybrid buses are an important element of our programme of converting to fossil-free bus traffic while reducing fuel consumption. Their combination of low emissions, lower noise level, high capacity and low energy utilisation is very attractive.”
Transport authorities and operators are increasingly discovering the benefits of hybrid technology, with Nobina, Nettbuss and, most recently, Göteborgs Spårvägar, as the biggest customers in the Nordic countries.
Bernt-Erik Johansson, Göteborgs Spårvägar’s director of operations, added: “We wanted environmentally favourable buses for a new application and we finally opted for Volvo hybrids, whose low fuel consumption makes a big difference to the quantity of emissions they release.”
Uri Peleg, area director north at Volvo Buses, said: “It’s very satisfying Gothenburg is committing to vehicles designed for environmentally efficient public transport. This order brings our total sales of hybrid buses in the Nordic countries to 100, and interest on the part of operators and transport authorities continues to grow rapidly.”
