Bremen relies on the future: 50 new e-buses for climate-neutral mobility

Bremen relies on the future: 50 new e-buses for climate-neutral mobility

Bremen, Deutschland - Great news for the Bremen Verkehrswelt: Today Bremer Straßenbahn AG (BSAG) has put the last of a total of 50 new e-buses into operation. The decision to expand the e-bus fleet two years ago now bears fruit and is an important step towards more sustainable mobility in the Hanseatic city. In the meantime, these environmentally friendly means of transport have become indispensable and strengthen the efforts to make Bremen a climate-neutral district. The success of this initiative is particularly emphasized by the BSAG technology board member Thorsten Harder, which emphasizes that an entire city area is now being supplied with fully electrical buses.

The new fleet is made up of 35 fully electric articular buses of the Mercedes-Benz Ecitaro G type and 15 Ibus18 vehicles from Irizar. These beautiful, powerful machines complement the existing electrical fleet of 20 standard buses of the Ecitaro model, which has been in use in Bremen for some time. The new e-buses have been delivered gradually to this day, and an Irizar bus has been in operation since January.

a comprehensive project

With the new e-bus workshop, which is due to start operating in August, and the storage space for the 50 articulated buses is well positioned. Nevertheless, there is a small drop of bitterness: some diesel buses still have to remain in use, since the ranges of the current e-buses are not sufficient for all routes in the north of Bremen. Especially on courses that include up to 400 kilometers, the e-buses cannot be used.

goals for the future

Overall, the BSAG now has 70 electric buses in the fleet, which is almost a third of the entire bus fleet. However, the ambitions go even further: by 2035, the entire BSAG fleet should drive fully electric, which would support the achievement of the federal government's climate goals. This stipulates that around 50 percent of the city buses are emission -free by 2030. Currently, the figures in German public transport have developed positively in recent years, because the number of electrical buses has increased from around 200 in 2018 to 2,640 in 2023. Forecasts indicate that around 7,400 electrical buses could be in use at the end of 2025, this would make up about 15 percent of the total bus fleet.

But the industry is under pressure. The current funding conditions for e-buses that are supported through government programs could be on the brink. Criticism comes from various associations that warn that the return to diesel buses threatens out of economic compulsion. The managing director of the Association of German Transport Companies, Martin Schmitz, emphasizes the need that the course must now be set for the environmentally friendly transition.

The BSAG has definitely shown a good hand with its procedure. Bremen shows that innovative approaches and promoting alternative drives can go hand in hand. If everything goes according to plan, the Hanseatic city will become a pioneer in the area of ​​sustainable mobility in the coming years.

Further information on the funding programs and the current developments in the field of e-buses can be found on the websites of the electrive.net href = "https://www.bmv.de/shahareddocs/de/pressemitteilungen/2023/057-wissing-saubere-busse.html"> bmdv as well as the Tagesspiegels .