Germany Hamburger Hochbahn AG has taken delivery of 15 Volvo 7900 H hybrid buses at a handover ceremony conducted at the 2013 International Garden Show at the IGS grounds in Hamburg.
The buses will be immediately commissioned at the operating subsidiaries of Friedr. Jasper Rund- und Gesellschaftsfahrten GmbH and Süderelbe Bus GmbH (SBG) and will mainly impact southern Hamburg. The city’s expressed goal is to only acquire emission-free buses as of 2020.
Volvo’s offering as a systems provider encompasses the installation of infrastructure and charging stations plus supplemental services such as battery and maintenance contracts, telematic services and an extensive fleet management portfolio.
Ten of the 12m hybrids will be commissioned at Jasper and the other five buses will operate at SBG. They will be fully integrated into regular scheduled services. Air conditioning is standard as well as easy access through two 1,350 mm wide, inward gliding doors and kneeling on the entire entrance side. The EBS 5 electronic braking system provides safety with pneumatic disc brakes, a pedal-operated retarder, brake assistant, bus-stop brake and starting prevention devices, as well as halogen headlights and water-cooled, maintenance-free lithium-ion iron phosphate batteries. A 10-year battery maintenance contract regulates continuous inspection and ensures the operational readiness of these hybrid buses.
