Ebusco to deliver 20 electric buses to Belgium

Ebusco has received a follow-up bus order from Multiobus. The Belgian operator signed for 20 electric buses at the Busworld show in Brussels. Multiobus opted for Ebusco's best-known model while carefully moving into lightweight technology.

The Ebusco 2.2 from today’s oder by Multiobus will have a battery pack of over 400 kWh and low-floor configuration. The layout complements the Ebusco models Multiobus already has in the fleet.

Counting the incoming 20 buses, the operator will run 36 Ebusco buses for De Lijn, Belgium’s largest public transport company. Multiobus is a subcontractor for the Flemish company, which is reporteldly converting nearly a thousand buses to zero emissions.

Subcontractor Multiobus will deploy the e-bus fleet in Tienen, Ebusco said.

The companies relationship goes back to 2017 when Multiobus ordered the first four Ebusco 2.1 buses and upgraded to ten Ebusco 2.2s in April 2020.

The Dutch manufacturer also offers the Ebusco 3.0, which is supposed to save energy and thus operating costs in the long term with its lightweight construction, but it is more expensive. Therefore, the Ebusco 2.2 will continue to be sold to give public transport operators a choice.

Interestingly, Multiobus has also already ordered two of the latest, lighter buses as the company has recognised “the potential of this lightweight innovation”, according to Ebusco. Still,” the specific configuration requirements” see the operator stick with the Ebusco 2.2 for now. The two Ebusco 3.0 for Multiobus are in production.

“We’ve had a longstanding partnership with Ebusco, and their unwavering dedication continues to leave us impressed,” commented Olivier Van Mullem, CEO at Multiobus. “Now, six years since our initial collaboration with Ebusco, we stand even more firmly behind our shared philosophy, hence this new order and extended partnership.”

Brad van de Kerkhof, Account Manager Benelux at Ebusco, added that the company was “immensely proud” and looking forward “to many more years of collaboration”.

The 12-metre Ebusco 2.2 can generally transport up to 90 passengers and travels between 250 and 350 kilometres on one battery charge. Multiobus relies on depot charging overnight in Tienen with technology supplied by Heliox. Ebusco also offers a pantograph option.

ebusco.com