Oslo: Unibuss commissions 183 electric buses

The Norwegian capital Oslo got 183 new electric buses on 16 April. The Solaris Urbino 18 electric vehicles will be used in route areas 1 (city centre north-south) and 2 (city centre east-west).

As reported, the transport operator Unibuss ordered 183 articulated electric buses in January 2022. For the Polish manufacturer, it was the largest order to date. The 18-metre-long articulated buses have battery packs with a capacity of 500 kWh and are charged via cable in the depot – unlike earlier generations, which were to plug in on the road via pantographs. Since the new vehicles have a range of up to 250 kilometres, they no longer need to be recharged during their daytime operations. Overnight depot charging is sufficient.

Most of the vehicles are charged at one of Scandinavia’s largest electric bus depots, which was opened in parallel with the commissioning of the buses. “The Stubberud bus facility is an important building block to facilitate the transition to zero-emission buses in Oslo. With this modern facility, everything is ready for an even more efficient operation of the capital’s public transport,” says Cato Hellesjø, CEO of Unibuss parent company Sporveien. The remaining vehicles will be charged at the existing Alnabru depot.

The two route areas 1 and 2 include bus routes 20, 21, 28, 30, 31, 31E, 34, 37 and 54, as well as night routes 11N, 12N, 1N, 2N, 5N and 63N, which are now served by the electric Solaris articulated buses.  City centre routes 20, 21, 31 and 37 are among the busiest in the country. In both cases, the operating licence is valid for ten years each, with the option of a four-year extension.

A further 137 electric buses are scheduled to enter service in Oslo in December, bringing the total electric bus fleet in the Norwegian capital to 320 vehicles in 2023. Among them will be 76 all-electric Lion’s City E from MAN, which Unibuss ordered in December 2022. Previously, the public transport operator Nobina had also ordered 76 electric buses for use in Oslo in September 2022, but from the Dutch manufacturer Ebusco.

“We are working to make the city’s public transport cheaper and better for everyone, regardless of age, ability or income,” says Sirin Stav, Councillor for Environment and Transport in Oslo. “With new electric buses, we are a big step closer to completely emission-free public transport. This will lead to less noise, climate emissions and air pollution.”

elbil.no, mynewsdesk.com (both in Norwegian)