FRANCE The Régie des transports de Marseille (RTM) has converted route 82 between La Canebière and Euromed to full electric operation using six Irizar i2e buses configured with 27 seats and an overall capacity of 77. The Spanish company has also installed recharging infrastructure.
RTM began its search for sustainable mobility which had reduced impact on the environment in 2006. “This is a true revolution,” said Maxime Tommasini, President of RTM’s Administrative Council. “A commitment has been made to lower noise pollution and contamination. We will be able to operate in many other lines. I want to highlight that we are already transporting 63% of the people of Marseilles in a manner that is gentle and electric thanks to the tram and the underground. Our network is included among the less contaminating buses at an international level.”
Irizar says that the i2e has an operating range of between 12 and 16 hours covering up to 240km. Its carbon footprint is 8.45g CO2 eq./km.p (per kilometre and passenger). Compared to a conventional combustion bus, around 800 tonnes of CO2 are prevented from being emitted during its entire service life.
Said Hector Olabe: “We have worked together to manufacture a bus that meets all the requirements and needs of the citizens and the orography of Marseilles, and also to provide RTM with charging stations and an intelligent system to efficiently manage all the charge conditions/restrictions inside the depot. This system identifies the different charging needs of each bus and optimises the total required power, which makes the electric conversion of the bus fleets completely viable. All in all, we offer turnkey solutions.”
