Bristol Airport has ordered two battery-electric Mercedes-Benz eCitaro 12m buses. They are to be used on landside work for both staff and customer car park transfers and will be supported by an electric bus charging hub there that uses Kempower 150kW units.
The eCitaro pair will complement four battery-electric Cobus airside buses that were delivered earlier this year. A spokesperson for Bristol Airport says that the eCitaros form part of a phased plan to move all airside and landside buses to zero-emission. Two further battery-electric Cobus airside buses are on order for 2024.
Infrastructure to support the two eCitaro buses at Bristol Airport will commence installation in mid-November, with the chargers arriving in late December.
Daimler Buses UK has confirmed that the vehicles will be to two-door, airport-style layout, although “the flooring and seat moquette has been specified to enhance the passenger experience,” a spokesperson says.
Each bus will have 588kW/h of energy storage, with a nominal usable capacity of 420kW/h. In revealing the increase to a 588kW/h maximum in 2022, Daimler Buses said that it utilises a third generation of NMC chemistry via individual battery pack capacity of 98kW/h.
The manufacturer noted then that such a provision will give the air-conditioned eCitaro a reliable range of 280km, and “well over 300km” in favourable conditions.
Daimler Buses UK has now confirmed three eCitaro orders. In addition to those for Bristol Airport, it has two separate purchases by Transdev Blazefield in hand, which will see 35 of the type delivered for use in Yorkshire. Those buses are part-funded by the first round of the Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas scheme. The first production eCitaros for the UK will arrive in spring 2024.
