Amsterdam’s GVB to procure up to 142 electric buses
The Amsterdam public transport operator GVB plans to convert its bus fleet to electric vehicles by 2025 and is now preparing a tender for a further 91 to 142 electric buses, of which 39 are to be ordered in a first phase.
At the end of 2018, GVB had already signed a contract with VDL Bus & Coach for the supply of 31 electric buses with an option for 69 more. Now the procurement of the next series of buses and chargers is to be prepared. The transport company has launched a so-called market consultation for this purpose. The plan is to purchase standard and articulated buses of 12 and 18 meters in length, which have both fast-charging technology (“opportunity charging”) and the facilities for depot charging.
GVB indicated that it would prefer a single supplier capable of supplying both standard and articulated buses and the corresponding charging infrastructure, as well as carrying out all necessary integration and installation work. In principle, the Amsterdam-based company reserve the right to divide the total procurement into lots and/or different tenders.
The battery-electric buses from the contract with VDL were received by GVB from April this year. They are intended for lines 15, 22 and 36, which all start and end at the Sloterdijk stop. Specifically, the first load consists of nine Citea SLF-120 Electric and 22 Citea SLFA-180 Electric articulated buses. All of them come with pantographs. The charging infrastructure – DC rapid charging systems for the depot as well as occasional chargers with 450 kW power – was supplied by Heliox.
The background for the company’s ambitious electrification plans is the Dutch capital’s “Clean Air Action Plan”, which provides for the banning of combustion vehicles from 2030 and which, among other things, only permits emission-free public transport in an environmental zone within the A10 ring road from 2025.
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