OsloBuss is moving away from diesel-powered buses in favor of battery-powered vehicles – the first tourist bus company in Northern Europe to do so. It now has 10 Yutong-made electric buses in service and will add more in the near future. “Our goal was to be the first company in Norway with an all-electric tour and we succeeded by a good margin,” said Fredrik Eijerstam, managing director of OsloBuss. Elbilthe Norwegian Electric Vehicle Association.
“Our customers and society in general expect a green environmental profile and we believe that an investment in this area will benefit us, our customers and society,” says OsloBuss on its website. “The first ten fully electric tourist buses in the Nordic region are now in service in Oslo. This is an important step for zero-emission transport. With a range of up to 400km on a single charge, they are now ready for quiet, emission-free driving. 75 to 80% of the journeys we make can now be electrified. »
Each electric bus has seats for 50 passengers and has a battery with a capacity of 374 kWh. Bus heating and cooling systems are also electric, so they are completely emission-free. The electric buses are charged overnight and are ready for a full day’s use after 4 hours of ordinary use. fast charge.
“We have received a lot of positive feedback from drivers and service staff, and especially from passengers, who are very happy that it is now easier to choose an environmentally friendly mode of transport. We hope our customers will enjoy buses that will contribute to better air quality, less noise and a more comfortable and quiet journey,” the company says.
Image courtesy of OsloBuss
Solar charging station for electric buses
To support its expansion into all electric transport, OsloBuss, together with Wennstrom Solutions, is building an advanced charging park in Oslo for buses and other large electric vehicles. It currently has twelve 80 kW chargers, but plans to increase this number to 30. The charging park has its own solar panels and a battery storage system. A wind turbine is also planned for later this year.
A separate management system charges the battery during the day and enables rapid charging of buses when parked. The control system reduces the electrical load on the network and at the same time provides predictability of electricity consumption, which helps reduce the cost of recharging buses.
“It’s our moon landing!” We aim to have an emissions-free bus fleet by 2023 and this management system is an important step on the way,” said Svein Busch Iversen, President of OsloBuss. “We are seeing more and more travelers asking for fossil-free transport and it is a pleasure to be able to offer them exactly that.”
Wennstrom specializes in providing products and services for charging buses, cars, trucks and even ferries. “We have built a completely new type of charging park with innovative power output distribution via a larger battery bank and power generation from solar cells on the roof and facade. We combine this with an advanced power output and load model management system,” explains project manager Helge Falkendal.
“There are several factors that we manage based on, it could be times of day, driving habits and the simultaneity factor of how many buses are charging at the same time. We then manage the distribution of energy in order to avoid power peaks and keep electricity prices low. »
Driver Egil Nerhovde says Elbil, “Although the mileage depends on both terrain, temperature and … the driving style of the driver, it is no problem to cover well over 400 kilometers before the bus needs to be recharged. Then we would like 12-20% battery capacity left. Moreover, the buses are fun to drive and they are much quieter than traditional diesel buses. »
Norway actively supports electric cars, trucks and buses and this support is essential to convince companies like OsloBuss to buy electric buses and install the charging infrastructure for them. Next time you’re in Oslo and want to see the fjords from an emission-free bus, OsloBuss, which serves over 1.2 million passengers a year, will be happy to help you achieve your goal.
Thanks to Are Hansen for sharing Elbil’s story with us.
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