EBS orders 193 VDL electric buses in the Netherlands
VDL Bus & Coach has received its largest order for electric buses to date. The Dutch public transport company EBS has ordered 193 new-generation VDL Citeas to operate the newly awarded Zaanstreek-Waterland concession from December 2023.
VDL Bus & Coach says it will deliver 60 new-generation VDL Citeas type LE-122 and 135 VDL Citeas LE-135 from September. The vehicles will be equipped with battery packs with a capacity of 490 kWh (LE-122) and 552 kWh (LE-135).
The LE models are low entry buses but also have a raised interior floor and thus offer a different seating position. In addition to the LE models, VDL also offers the Citea as an LF – this stands for “low floor”, i.e. a continuous low-floor concept. At VDL, the numbers in the model designation stand for the vehicle length: the LE-122 is 12.2 meters long, the LE-135 is 13.5 meters.
“We are immensely proud to be able to run public transport in Zaanstreek-Waterland for the next 15 years. Opting for electric buses is the logical choice for us. This order will see our fleet of electric buses grow to more than 500. We have great confidence in the cooperation with VDL for this Zaanstreek-Waterland concession,” said Wilko Mol, CEO of EBS. In November last year, the public transport operator already ordered 31 electric buses from Ebusco.
“We are immensely proud that VDL Bus & Coach is able to supply the entire new fleet for this newly formed concession,” said Rolf-Jan Zweep, who took over as CEO of VDL Bus & Coach from Paul van Vuuren on January 1 this year. “The new-generation VDL Citea is ideally suited for this with its efficient energy consumption and optimal driving characteristics.”
This will further increase the presence of VDL electric buses in the Dutch domestic market.In May 2022, the Dutch electric bus maker received an order for 84 electric buses from Amsterdam’s public transport operator, GVB.
Over in neighbouring Germany late last year, German rail operator, Arriva announced it was expanding its fleet in the North Brabant East concession in the Netherlands with 64 new electric buses from VDL Bus & Coach. In this German concession, VDL is supplying 40 new generation Citeas of type LF-122 and four articulated buses of type LF-181 for public transport in the city of Tilburg, as well as 20 Citea LE-135 for use between Uden-Veghel-Eindhoven and Uden-Veghel-Den Bosch.
