The first all-electric bus enters service in Espoo
HSL launches the trial of the first all-electric bus on Monday
26 November. The bus is tested, for example, on Espoo internal
route 11. The bus is operated by Veolia Transport Finland Oy.
During the three-year trial, the bus is tested in both summer
and winter conditions. The bus will be tested also in the test
laboratories of the Technical Research Centre of Finland
(VTT). HSL’s aim is to get first-hand information on the
performance of a battery-electric bus and to compare conventional
bus technology and alternative fuels. Also passengers will be able
to have their say about the electric bus. During the trial,
HSL gathers experience in planning services operated with
electronic buses.
The bus that is being tested is a Caetano 2500EL electronic bus
made in Portugal. “For the present, the bus can only be charged at
the Veolia depot. The range of the bus is about 120 kilometers on
one charge. The charging takes a couple of hours," says Traffic
Manager Sven Nyholm from Veolia.
Electric buses are emission-free
Electric buses are almost noiseless and they do not emit exhaust
fumes. HSL’s strategy is to cut public transport emissions
affecting the air quality by 80 percent by 2018. This cannot be
done without the latest vehicle technology, best fuels and
utilizing electricity as a source of energy.
The electric bus trial is part of eBus project, which in
addition to HSL and Veolia Transport Finland Oy involves, among
others, the Technical Research Centre of Finland, Ministry of
Transport and Communications, Metropolia UAS, City of Espoo,
Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation, Fortum Oyj
and several equipment manufacturers. The idea is to test 4-6
electric buses from different manufactures in the metropolitan area
public transport in the coming years.