Switzerland: Fribourg public transport company orders 24 eCitaro buses

The Fribourg public transport company (TPF) has ordered two dozen eCitaro buses, including 18-metre articulated buses and 12-metre standard buses that can be charged with a pantograph. According to the company, the investment is around 20 million Swiss francs (around 21 million euros). The electrically powered buses will be used from December 2026 in regional transport and urban transport (‘Agglo and Mobul’) in the canton of Fribourg.

“According to our criteria, these vehicles were the best in terms of technology and sustainability. We also chose them because of the comfort they offer travellers. And finally, they also impressed our drivers,” explains Thomas Hans, Technical Manager Road Vehicles at TPF. An extensive test phase with various electric bus models preceded the award of the contract.

As part of the tender, TPF also committed to purchasing a minimum of 35 and a maximum of 183 eCitaro vehicles from Mercedes-Benz over the next five years: ‘This flexibility allows us to adapt to the wishes of the customer, but also to keep pace with the technological development of electric buses and batteries,” says Hans. TPF aims to decarbonise its entire bus fleet on its concessionary routes by 2033. Currently, 13 per cent of vehicles (electric buses and battery-powered trolleybuses) are locally emission-free.

In March 2023, the Fribourg electorate approved an increase of CHF 60 million in TPF’s equity capital to finance this feat. The other two main shareholders, the City of Fribourg (CHF 12.5 million) and SBB (CHF 3.8 million), also agreed to this increase. Among other things, these funds should enable TPF to invest in new e-buses on a large scale.

tpf.ch (PDF; in German)