Skip to main content

Volvo launches ElectriCity bus project in Sweden

Buses that glide noiselessly without emissions, that pick up passengers indoors and which are powered by a renewable source of electricity – this will become a reality in 2015, if a new initiative in the Swedish city of Gothenburg is successful. Behind the initiative, known as ElectriCity, is the Volvo Group, in cooperation with the Swedish Energy Agency, the City of Gothenburg, Västtrafik, Lindholmen Science Park and Johanneberg Science Park. The aim is to make buses powered entirely by electricity from r
June 18, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
Buses that glide noiselessly without emissions, that pick up passengers indoors and which are powered by a renewable source of electricity – this will become a reality in 2015, if a new initiative in the Swedish city of Gothenburg is successful.

Behind the initiative, known as ElectriCity, is the 609 Volvo Group, in cooperation with the Swedish Energy Agency, the City of Gothenburg, Västtrafik, Lindholmen Science Park and Johanneberg Science Park.  The aim is to make buses powered entirely by electricity from renewable sources part of the Gothenburg’s public-transport system. The buses will be fuel-efficient, silent and completely emissions-free. At least one of the bus stops will be located indoors.

“This represents an entirely new mode of travel and will allow for the public-transport system to contribute to a more pleasant urban environment. A silent and emissions-free public-transport system will enable the inclusion of locations in the city that are currently off limits. It is immensely satisfying to be able to launch this in our hometown, in cooperation with Region Västra Götaland and the City of Gothenburg,” commented Olof Persson, president and CEO of Volvo.

Commencing in 2015, the electric buses are to run between Johanneberg Science Park adjacent to Chalmers and Lindholmen Science Park in Hisingen.

“The electric bus service entails a new mode of public-transport system usage, which is highly positive for Gothenburg. It will highlight Gothenburg as a progressive city in terms of city planning. This is also in line with our prioritised objective of having Gothenburg reduce its climate impact to become a climate-neutral city, and of increasing sustainable travel,” explains Anneli Hulthén, chairman of the Municipal Board.

The initiative also includes the creation and trial runs of new bus-stop solutions, traffic-routing systems, safety concepts, energy supply and business models.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Microgrids & the new power generation
    August 31, 2021
    Public transportation agencies are turning to microgrids to provide critical resilience in the event of local and regional power interruptions. Gordon Feller looks at projects in Maryland, New Jersey and Massachusetts
  • ABB, Scania trial electric buses in Sweden
    May 3, 2017
    Swiss power and automation technology company ABB is to provide two ABB HVC300P fast-chargers for a Scania electric bus trial in Östersund, Sweden. The chargers are based on OppCharge, an open interface for the automated charging of electric buses from any manufacturer, and use a pantograph on the infrastructure to connect the bus to the charging point. The buses will be operated by Nettbuss, a subsidiary of the Norwegian State Railways, NSB. The two charging stations will be built at both ends of a 14-kilo
  • New riders get onboard the metabustrip
    October 5, 2016
    Bus travel booking is moving into the digital age as David Crawford discovers. A global surge in demand for intercity bus travel is fuelling new initiatives to make it easier for passengers to access information and book via the web by, fo example, using multi-sourced metasearch engines
  • European ITS Congress emphasises ITS development and deployment
    January 26, 2012
    The 8th European ITS Congress is a key event for the industry. Hermann Meyer, CEO of Ertico-ITS Europe puts the event in context