Volvo receives order for 25 hybrid buses for Göteborg
07 February 2012
Volvo Buses has received an order for 25 Volvo 7700 hybrid buses (earlier post) from Göteborgs Spårvägar (Gothenburg Tramways), which operates public transport services on behalf of Västtrafik, the agency responsible for public transport services in Gothenburg. Volvo has now sold 100 hybrid buses in the Nordic countries.
The 25 Volvo 7700 hybrid buses are powered by a small diesel engine and an electric motor. Fuel consumption is reduced by the use of regenerative braking to recover the energy generated when the vehicle’s brakes are applied. The diesel engine is shut off at bus stops, enabling the bus to operate silently and emission-free on electricity. However, emissions from diesel operation are also low since the bus is fueled by biodiesel. According to Volvo Buses, hybrid buses running on biodiesel have a distinctly lower environmental impact than other, comparable alternatives.
The hybrid buses are an important element of our program of converting to fossil-free bus traffic while reducing fuel consumption. Their combination of low emissions, lower noise level, high capacity and low energy utilization is very attractive.
—Leif Blomqvist, chairman of the board of Västtrafik
All the data is in the previous post.
30% fuel improvement, payback in 5-7 years.
Sounds like they are a bit too expensive - if they have only sold 100 so far. They need to get it done to 305 years [IMHO] before sales take off.
The main benefit would be reduced urban pollution and noise, so maybe the local council should pay the price difference.
I'm all for hybrid (or electric) buses, especially the ones that charge at bus stops, but these are a really good partial solution - if only they could sell more of them.
Posted by: mahonj | 07 February 2012 at 02:15 AM