The Swedish town of Värnamo will be the first in Europe to have all its buses operated by electric-hybrids, with opportunity charging taking 3-4 minutes, from this autumn.
The small town, with 19,000 people, only runs four buses, and these will be replaced with four Volvo 7900 electric-hybrids.
They will run on renewable electricity for 70% of the route, and renewable hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) for rest, cutting CO2 emissions by 90%.
The four electric hybrid buses and their ABB charging station will be delivered as a turnkey solution, with Volvo assuming responsibility for maintenance of the buses and their batteries at a fixed monthly cost.
Not only will electrification contribute to more appealing urban environment, with less noise and better air quality, but frequencies will be increased and a new bus lane will be built.
The aim is to quadruple passenger journeys over three-years.
“With this move we are taking yet another step in the construction of tomorrow’s attractive city, with our sights firmly set on developing as a human-centric growth municipality with a population of 40,000 by 2035,” says Behnam Sharo, Värnamo city architect.
The programme to electrify Värnamo’s public transport is a joint effort by Värnamo municipality and county transport provider Jönköpings länstrafik. Operations will be handled by contractor Nettbuss.
Volvo’s electric hybrids and electric buses are already in service in cities such as Gothenburg, Stockholm, Hamburg, Luxemburg and Curitiba.
“It’s impressive and really gratifying that Värnamo has now decided to lead the way and create a sustainable public transport system based on our hybrid buses. Electrically powered buses are the future for both large cities and small towns,” says Martin Spjern, Key Account Manager Nordic at Volvo Buses.
“We are very pleased about the investment, it shows the possibilities to be at the forefront when it comes to new technology, even though you are situated outside Sweden’s three largest cities,” says regional politician Rune Backlund.
