44 New e-hybrid articulated buses for De Lijn, Public Transport Operator (PTO) in the Flemish part of Belgium
News courtesy of – De Lijn
We are taking another important step in emission-free driving in urban areas.
The board approved the order of 44 new e-hybrid articulated buses and gave the green light for the upgrade of 280 hybrids to e-hybrid buses.
- The first hybrid buses were already included in De Lijn’s fleet in 2009.
- Now there are already 530 hybrid buses in-house throughout Flanders.
- The advantage of an e-hybrid over a hybrid is the capacity of the batteries.
- With a regular hybrid, this capacity is limited: the hybrid leaves from a standstill emission-free and after ±400 meters the diesel engine must be switched on to recharge the batteries.
- With an e-hybrid, the capacity is much larger: depending on the range of e-hybrids, they can drive 15 to 100 km continuously electric.
Thanks to the decision of the board of directors, we get:
- 150 hybrid buses with an average zero emission autonomy of 15 km (software adaptation for existing hybrids)
- 90 hybrid buses that can run 30 km continuously emission-free (upgrade existing)
- 84 articulated e-buses with an emission-free range of 100 km (combination of upgrade existing and purchase of new ones)
At night and during the day, the batteries of these buses shall be charged with green electricityat locations. Thanks to their EUR6 diesel engine with soot and particulate filter, they can also recharge while driving outside the urban areas and thus drive several zero-emission cycles every day.
It is no coincidence that 234 of these e-hybrids are of the articulated type. Director-General of De Lijn Ann Schoubs: “At the moment, the zero-emission autonomy of articulated e-buses does not yet meet the requirements of de Lijn’s network. But since articulated buses are an important part of the fleet, De Lijn already wants to come up with a greening solution to improve air quality as quickly as possible.”
We are the first public transport provider to bet on e-buses with high emission-free autonomy. This innovation is therefore followed with great interest by colleagues abroad and by the UITP, the international association of public transport companies.
Funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU
News courtesy of – De Lijn
Image courtesy of – De Lijn, the public transport operator (PTO) in the Flemish part of Belgium