GVB, the public transport company of Amsterdam, is further expanding its electric fleet with 84 new generation VDL Citeas. These vehicles, based entirely on an electric powertrain, will be deployed from 2023 onwards. The framework contract includes an option for a further 130 new VDL Citeas, which in the coming years will contribute to a further reduction in CO₂ emissions.

VDL Bus & Coach will deliver 30 articulated new generation VDL Citeas of type LF-181 and 54 VDL Citeas LF-122. For the expansion of the GVB fleet, VDL Bus & Coach is also responsible for implementing the charging infrastructure. GVB has been using electric buses since the end of 2019: 44 are currently in service and an additional 31 will enter service during the summer period, bringing the total number of electric buses to 75 in 2022.

Amsterdam has developed the Route Map Amsterdam Climate Neutral 2050: the city will reduce its CO₂ emissions by 5% in 2025, 55% in 2030 and 95% in 2050 compared to 1990 levels. Part of this is that GVB provides completely emission-free bus transport in 2025.

With this order, the GVB fleet will eventually be entirely VDL. GVB is going to phase out the last diesel buses and permanently switch to zero emission VDL Citeas in Amsterdam.

—Ard Romers, managing director of VDL Bus & Coach Nederland

Since the introduction of the first Citea SLF-120 Electric in Geneva during the UITP Mobility & City Transport exhibition in 2013, VDL Bus & Coach has focused strongly on electric mobility.

In 2021, VDL Bus & Coach presented the new generation of electric Citeas. Based on the VDL vision, a bus concept has been developed that is entirely based on an electric drive train and features batteries in the floor, a one-piece composite side wall, clever energy management, a sophisticated climate control system and an ergonomic driver’s environment. With these five innovations, VDL Bus & Coach introduced the new generation Citea product range, consisting of four length variants and five types. The range of the new generation of Citeas has been considerably improved.

The new generation of Citeas has already been sold in several countries and will be deployed in a number of cities and areas starting this year: The Netherlands (Eindhoven), Finland (Kotka and Lahti), Belgium (all of Flanders), Germany (Oberhausen and Braunschweig) and France (Bordeaux).

GVB provides public transport in and around Amsterdam. Before the coronavirus outbreak, GVB transported approximately 938,000 passengers on an average working day by metro, tram and bus, and on the ferries across the IJ and the North Sea Canal.