VDL Bus & Coach will deliver approx. 40 Citea’s SLFA Electric to the Dutch transport operator Hermes, to be entered into service in its concession Zuidoost-Brabant, in the southern part of the Netherlands. Target is to create a transition in this area from conventional buses with combustion engines to absolutely emission-free public transport within the period 2016-2025. Part of the plan is that the city of Eindhoven will have a completely electric public transport system in 2020.
Zero emission is not the only goal for this concession, there are more ambitions, for example with regard to longevity, innovation and mobility. Operator Hermes claims that this concession Zuidoost-Brabant will become one of the most advanced public transport concessions in Europe. As a first step in this conversion 40 Citea’s SLFA Electric will be delivered in december 2016.
The VDL Citea SLFA Electric is an electrically driven articulated bus with a length of 18,1 meter, and with an innovated futuristic BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) body design. The delivery of the Citea SLFA Electric buses as first step of this conversion makes the bus fleet of Hermes Zuidoost-Brabant one of the largest zero emission fleets in Europe. Named ‘Evolans’ these buses will travel with such a frequency on certain lines that a kind of tramlike system is created. One of these high-frequency lines will connect Eindhoven Airport with the city center of Eindhoven. Another location frequented by these high-frequency lines is the High Tech Campus.
The replacement of the full bus fleet of Hermes in Zuidoost-Brabant will be carried out in a number of steps. During the concession period there will be a continuous development of all systems involved, and the results of this project will be carried over to the next stage. It means that every next stage represents the most actual technical level, including the charging infrastructure, the functional aspects and the vehicle’s economy.
