Skip to main content

Vienna’s first electric bus goes into operation

The first electric bus (eBus) to be used in Austria’s capital city of Vienna has been put into service by the municipal transport authority, Wiener Linien, the first operator in Europe to implement and integrate eBuses into scheduled service. Designed and developed by Siemens Rail Systems and bus manufacturer Rampini, the vehicle is the first of twelve with which Wiener Linien intends to move two of the city's bus services to electric power by the summer of 2013. The vehicle’s total energy requirement is st
October 31, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
The first electric bus (eBus) to be used in Austria’s capital city of Vienna has been put into service by the municipal transport authority, 4203 Wiener Linien, the first operator in Europe to implement and integrate eBuses into scheduled service.

Designed and developed by 189 Siemens Rail Systems and bus manufacturer Rampini, the vehicle is the first of twelve with which Wiener Linien intends to move two of the city's bus services to electric power by the summer of 2013.

The vehicle’s total energy requirement is stored in the onboard lithium ferrite battery system, which also supplies the heating and air-conditioning systems.  The battery charger is installed on the bus, which recharges at each bus stop via an elevating, roof-mounted pantograph. Battery capacity is 96 kilowatt hours, and the batteries can be recharged within fifteen minutes, and provide a range of between 120 to 150 km.  Energy regained from braking is regenerated through the three-phase motors, and fed back into the batteries.  The batteries are fully recharged over night when the bus is stationery in the depot.

The compact low-floor bus can carry up to 40 passengers, and its top speed is limited to 62 kilometers per hour. The bus itself does not emit any CO2, and is almost silent. Siemens claims eBuses require 25 percent less energy than petrol or diesel-powered buses, are less expensive to maintain and are completely emission-free in operation.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Phoenix rises to the Smart City challenge
    December 10, 2015
    Andrew Bardin Williams looks at the City of Phoenix where voters backed a $30bn plan to revamp its transportation network to cultivate a more connected community. According to a Land Use Institute study, half of all Americans and even more millennials (63%) would like to live in a place where they do not need to use a car very often. The City of Phoenix is putting in place plans to revamp its urban development and transportation policies to meet these changing quality of life perceptions.
  • IBM, Honda, and PG&E enable smarter charging for EVs
    April 17, 2012
    IBM has teamed with American Honda Motor Company and Pacific Gas and Electric Company on a new pilot project that will allow communication between electric vehicles (EVs) and the power grid. This project will demonstrate and test an electric vehicle's ability to receive and respond to charge instructions based on the grid condition and the vehicle's battery state. With visibility into charging patterns, energy providers will have the ability to more effectively manage charging during peak hours and create c
  • Navya to launch self-driving electric shuttle service in Abu Dhabi project
    October 26, 2018
    Navya’s self-driving electric shuttle will operate as a daily mobility service for a planned city project in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. The Autonom shuttle will link parking areas in Masdar City with its main podium. Navya and Abu Dhabi’s Department of Transport have customised the shuttle to mitigate the effects of extreme heat and humidity on battery performance. They also carried out health and safety tests to ensure the safety of passengers and pedestrians. Autonom can c
  • B&C Transit modernises Miami-Dade Metrorail’s control systems
    June 1, 2016
    Jason Gomez and Daniel Mondesir describe how passenger disruption was minimised during a major upgrading of the control room of Miami-Dade’s Metrorail. In 1984 when the Miami-Dade Department of Transportation and Public Works’ (DTPW) Metrorail system was launched in southern Florida, trains ran 18km along a single line and stopped at 10 stations.