VDL Bus & Coach is going to deliver 43 VDL Citeas Electric to Qbuzz. The order consists of 11 VDL Citeas SLFA-180 and 32 VDL Citeas SLF-120 Electric. These e-buses will be deployed from the end of 2019 on city lines in the cities of Emmen, Assen and Groningen. In addition to electrification of bus transport in various major cities in the Netherlands, VDL Bus & Coach is also contributing substantially to making bus transport more sustainable in the Groningen Drenthe concession. This order is a nice addition to the 10 electric articulated VDL Citeas that will serve the Q-link bus lines from the local region to important destinations in the City of Groningen starting in late 2017.
“As a reliable transition partner to emission-free public transport, we are very pleased to once again contribute to the further electrification of bus transport in the north of the Netherlands,” says Managing Director Ard Romers of VDL Bus & Coach Nederland. “This second award of a tender for electric buses, consisting of 43 electric Citeas, demonstrates Qbuzz’s confidence in VDL’s electric product range and VDL as a supplier. We are proud to work together with our partner Qbuzz and concession grantor OV-Bureau Groningen Drenthe to improve the quality of life in the northern cities.”
Transition to cleaner public transport
In July of last year, concession grantor OV-bureau Groningen Drenthe chose Qbuzz as bus operator in the provinces of Groningen and Drenthe. An important reason for this is Qbuzz’ ambition to gradually electrify all bus transport in this concession. The use of electric buses from December 2019 will reduce the CO2 emissions by 90%. With the order of 43 electric VDL buses and the 10 VDL Citeas SLFA Electric already in operation, VDL Bus & Coach has a large share in the significant CO2 reduction within this concession.
VDL Citeas Electric
The 32 VDL Citeas SLF-120 Electric will be equipped with a 216 kWh battery pack and built in a 2-door configuration. The 11 VDL Citeas SLFA-180 Electric will be equipped with a 288 kWh battery system and built in 3-door configuration. Both e-bus variants for Qbuzz will be outfitted with the latest battery technology. With the pantograph on the roof, the vehicles can be charged faster. This ensures optimum operational availability of the vehicles.
Qbuzz
Qbuzz was founded in April 2008 and is an ambitious, innovative quality player in the Dutch regional public transport market. Besides the Groningen Drenthe concession, Qbuzz also provides public transport in the Utrecht Region concession and the DMG concession (Drechtsteden, Molenlanden and Gorinchem) in South Holland. The company has over 2,400 employees and transports over 300,000 passengers every day with a fleet of 780 buses, 26 trams and 10 railcars.
SOURCE: VDL
