GERMANY
Ebusco has signed a contract with Verkehrsbetrieb Potsdam (ViP) for 10 Ebusco 3.0 12-metre buses, and 13 Ebusco 3.0 18-metre articulated buses.
The 12-metre, three-door buses will be powered by a battery pack of over 350kWh, and the 18-metre buses will be equipped with four doors and a battery pack offering over 500kWh. Unusually, each bus will be equipped with a pantograph, setting them apart from any other Ebusco 3.0 produced to date. The buses are scheduled to commence service in 2025 and will operate in the Potsdam area, to the south-west of Berlin.
ViP manages a fleet of 59 buses and transports over 30 million passengers annually. Stadtwerke Potsdam and ViP have committed to a gradual reduction of the 5,000 tons of CO2 emissions resulting from bus travel, with the goal of achieving emission-free operation by 2031; the order for its first Ebusco electric buses represents the first step towards this goal.
Ebusco and ViP have worked together to design an infrastructure based on pantograph charging, and whilst the order is a first for the Ebusco 3.0 model, the pantograph itself has already been implemented on many Ebusco 2.2 models.
Sales Director of Ebusco Patrick Oosterveld commented: “Ebusco has consistently played an important role in facilitating the initial adoption of electric buses. We are thrilled to continue contributing our wealth of knowledge and experience, playing a significant part in the successful implementation of electric buses. Through collaborative efforts with ViP, we’ve devised a solution that seamlessly enables their transition to an all-electric operation, and we eagerly anticipate the positive impact of this transition.”
