On 18 April 2017, Dutch passenger transport company Hermes reached the milestone of 1,000,000 kilometres travelled with the 43 electric buses that have been in service since last December. The fully electric VDL Citeas, with their futuristic design, are now a common sight in Eindhoven. The drivers operate the buses on 8 different zero emission routes with due pride. The electric operation is now operating at full capacity, with the buses clocking up over 9,000 km every weekday. Several buses even cover more than 340 km per day on their own. All the preconceptions about limited action radius have been dispelled by the cutting edge rapid charging concept at the Hermes depot. Intensive cooperation between VDL and Hermes has ensured that the Dutch vision on sustainable public transport is actually put into practice.
The fact that a unique operation is currently under way in Eindhoven, is clear from the many visits other European carriers and cities are paying to Eindhoven to experience and see with their own eyes that the future is already in full swing here. The big winners at this milestone, however, are the Eindhoven residents themselves. Because, with these million zero emission kilometres, emissions of NOx have been reduced by no less than 4.7 tonnes and emissions of CO2 by over 1,000 tonnes. This achievement after just 4 months of operation is very promising for the future indeed!
