Mercedes-Benz to trial electric buses in two German cities

Mercedes-Benz has supplied three fully-electric buses to German municipal transport company Rhein-Neckar-Verkehr (RNV) to help improve air quality in the cities of Mannheim and Heidelberg. Dr. Peter Kurz, mayor of Mannheim, says: “The electrification of buses is now an important milestone on the way to a clean city and will make local public transport significantly more attractive.” The first eCitaro bus will operate in Heidelberg, travelling from the main train station to the Altstadt commuter rail stati
January 29, 2019 Read time: 2 mins

1685 Mercedes-Benz has supplied three fully-electric buses to German municipal transport company Rhein-Neckar-Verkehr (RNV) to help improve air quality in the cities of Mannheim and Heidelberg.

Dr. Peter Kurz, mayor of Mannheim, says: “The electrification of buses is now an important milestone on the way to a clean city and will make local public transport significantly more attractive.”

The first eCitaro bus will operate in Heidelberg, travelling from the main train station to the Altstadt commuter rail station. Operating 9am-10pm, the service is expected eventually to cover 4km with 12 stops.

In Mannheim, one electric bus will run from the Käfertal train station to the Franklin district. A second bus will offer riders a journey between the Platz der Freundschaft and theTaylor industrial estate. Both services will be available from 6am-midnight.

Mercedes says the buses feature lithium-ion batteries with a total capacity of 243 kWh. Due to the battery's modular design, six modules are located on the vehicle’s roof while four modules are placed in the rear to take the position of the drive system combination of combustion engine and transmission.

The buses are charged using a Combi-2 plug, located on the right in the direction of travel above the front wheel housing. Mercedes used extended data transmission to develop a function which it claims can control the preconditioning in buses via a charging connector and remove the need for additional cables or lines for compressed air, low voltage or communication.

Air Quality & Weather Systems

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • New Flyer to deliver nearly 200 diesel-electric buses to Massachusetts
    January 10, 2019
    New Flyer of America is to deliver 194 heavy-duty Xcelsior diesel-electric transit buses to Massachusetts to replace buses which are at the end of their life. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) placed the order in 2010 and now has more than 200 forty-foot and 70 sixty-foot diesel-electric buses in operation. The hybrid buses, supported by Federal Transit Administration (FTA) grants, will replace end-of-life vehicles. MBTA ordered its first New Flyer hybrid bus in 2010, and now has
    Read More
  • Trial results change perceptions of EVs
    November 26, 2012
    The results of two one-year electric vehicle (EV) trials carried out in the Netherlands and Sweden were presented at the European Electric Vehicle Congress (EEVC) 2012. All aspects of EVs were taken into account during these trials; results show that after an EV is integrated in people’s daily use, most preconceptions are proved wrong.
    Read More
  • Lima moves forward in urban transport reform
    March 4, 2015
    Lima’s city council has approved a regulation which prohibits minibuses, locally known as combis, in 16 of the Peruvian capital's most traffic-congested districts as part of an ongoing attempt to modernise its urban transport system. The new rules will take effect over the next year. The bill also included a measure to extend by three years the operating licenses for 399 bus routes, which the city is trying to streamline and incorporate into its integrated urban transport system, or SIT. The SIT is Lima’s a
    Read More
  • Gothenburg’s year of congestion charging
    April 9, 2014
    A year after it went live, Colin Sowman examines the technology used for Gothenburg’s congestion charging system and the effect the scheme has had on commuters. When it comes to long-term planning, the Scandinavians take some beating.The West Swedish Agreement is a case in point. Introduced in 2009, the Agreement runs through to around 2027 and aims to create an attractive, sustainable and growing region, and over that timescale the number of journeys is expected to increase by a third. Therefore the Agreem
    Read More

Highlighted Content