First electric bus ride with passengers in Trondheim
One of the country's largest investments in electric buses will start on August 3. Bus company Tide will operate the lines served by electric buses and they will have buses from two different suppliers. One is from the bus manufacturer Volvo and is a twelve meter long electric city bus. The other comes from the bus manufacturer Heuliez and is an 18 meter long articulated bus. A total of 36 electric buses and eight charging stations provide an annual environmental saving of 1,955 tonnes of CO2.
Quiet twelve-ring
The bus, by the Volvo brand, is noticeably quieter than other buses. The EU requires that internal noise should not exceed 72 decibels (A) when the bus is empty and running at 50 km / h. The electric buses come much better than the EU's requirements.
- This tour means that we start to see the green shift in practice, and I am optimistic that this large-scale investment in Trondheim will give us good and necessary experiences that we hope will help ensure that electric buses are implemented in several Norwegian cities, says one of the guests on the trip, transport manager in Enova, Astrid Lilliestråle.
Enova has supported the electric bus project in Trondheim by over NOK 15 million.
Those who are going to drive the buses also like the brand new electric buses.
- These buses are absolutely beautiful to drive, comfortable and quiet, says the bus driver on the trip, Håvard Røed from Tide Buss.
- This gives a positive experience for the driver, the travelers and for the local community where the buses will run. No sound or emissions. I am very proud that we will participate in this environmental project in Trondheim, he adds.
Photo: Håvard Røed is happy driving the new electric bus.
Et enda bedre miljøregnskap
Gj
An even better environmental account
Through the new collective system, it is facilitated that even more people will be able to travel collectively. The fact that more people choose to park the car is the most important environmental contribution for the Trondheim area. When the bus park is also very environmentally friendly, it is of great importance to the environment.
The four electric bus lines in Trondheim save the environment for 1955 tonnes of fossil CO2 emissions each year compared to whether gas-powered buses would be on the same lines. If one compares with diesel-powered buses, we save 2100 tons of fossil CO2 emissions every year.
The two types of electric buses should run these lines:
Line 12 Dragvoll - Strindheim - Marienborg
Line 20 Romolslia - Strindheim - Grilstad
Line 25 The speed boat terminal - Singsaker - Strindheim - Vikåsen
Line 40 Tonstad - Flatåsen
This means that 12 percent of the Trondheim area's bus park will be electric from August 3. The rest of the new bus park is also considerably more environmentally friendly than today. Although the city buses will travel many kilometers a year after the changeover, the harmful emissions will be halved by means of electricity, hybrid buses and HVO biodiesel.
- Good to see the buses on the road
- On the bus trip today, there were representatives from Tide (who will drive the buses), ABB (who has built the charging stations), AtB and Enova (who have been involved in the financing). The route was from Sandmoen to the charging station at the stop Romolslia upper.
There are many players who work together to bring about a transition to emission-free bus transport in Trondheim. We have worked a lot for this and now we are proud to see this become a reality. With 36 electric buses, Trondheim will have 12 per cent of the city buses on electric operation. It is an important and big step into the future of collective solutions, says technical director of Tide Buss, Jan-Helge Sandvåg.
Volvo will deliver 25 of the 36 electric buses and the head of Volvo Bus in Norway, Svenn-Åge Løkken says this is in line with their commitment.
- This is a major electric bus venture for us in Norway, and supports our commitment where we cut out both diesel and gas in the bus segment, and switch to electric buses. We have great faith in increased electrification in the future, says Løkken.
- We work every day for a better environment. To see this become a reality is an important part of it, and we are proud to see the buses on the road here in Trondheim, concludes the director of communications and operations at AtB, Grethe Opsal.
Photo, from left: Arne Sigbjørnsen from ABB, Astrid Lilliestråle from Enova, Harald Storrønning from AtB, Svenn-Åge Løkken from Volvo, Jan-Helge Sandvåg from Tide Buss.