Originally published on CleanTechnica.
Electric bus manufacturer VDL Bus & Coach has announced the receipt of an order for 100 of its VDL Citeas SLFA electric buses and 18 of its VDL Futura FDD2, the company’s flagship electric double-decker bus.
The order represents the largest electric bus order VDL has ever received while at the same time making the transportation company ordering the buses — Connexxion, which is a subsidiary of global transit powerhouse Transdev — the largest fleet of electric buses in Europe. The double-decker electric buses will be the first double-decker buses in the Netherlands used for public transport.
While this purchase represents the largest fleet of electric buses in Europe, it is not the first set of electric buses for Connexxion, which has 43 buses up and running in the Southeast Brabant concession. Eric van Eijndhoven, the public transport director for Connexxion explains:
“This is the first stage in the transition to completely emission-free public transport for Amstelland-Meerlanden. Naturally, we are using all we have learned in the South-east Brabant concession, where VDL successfully supplied us with 43 articulated Citeas Electric. Therefore we have every confidence in the product and the collaboration with VDL.”
Connexxion will deploy the 100 standard Citeas buses into the fleet service for Schiphol and the nearby neighborhoods — for more goodness from that area, also see: “Electrifying Amsterdam Schiphol Airport — Tesla Taxis, Electric Buses, Etc. (#CleanTechnica Original).”
The buses will charge throughout the day to enable them to run 24 hours per day. Additionally, the depot will host charging stations for buses that only run during the day. Based on the current utilization, the new buses will run over 100,000 kilometers per year, which will really put their electric drivetrains, batteries, and charging configurations to the test and will also maximize the operational savings of driving efficient, electric vehicles.
The double-decker buses are slated to be delivered for use on rapid transit lines between Haarlem and Amsterdam South. The double-decker coaches are 14.1 meters long and have a capacity of 86 passengers — a healthy improvement over a standard bus.
Source: VDL via Dictus — thanks!
Reprinted with permission.