Offenbach's new electric buses at the start
19.11.2020 – The spotlights are aimed at the large curtain with the forest backdrop. Wisps of fog billow, suspenseful music plays. Then the scenery clears and the stage is set for one of Offenbacher Verkehrs-Betriebe's (OVB) new flagships, a twelve-meter-long Solaris electric bus. Together with six other vehicles from the Polish manufacturer, the Urbino E12 will be deployed in regular service from the timetable change on December 13.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Stadtwerke Offenbach's mobility company presented its new fleet of electric buses to the public online rather than at a large-scale event. It consists of six Solaris Urbino E12 standard buses and one Urbino E18 articulated bus. By the end of next year, the fleet is set to grow by a further 29 vehicles (20 standard and nine articulated buses) to 36 e-buses.
Offenbach radio presenter Evren Gezer will lead the audience through an entertaining program with lots of information about the new silent giants - from charging technology and maintenance to the training of drivers and the interior design of the visually striking e-buses. OVB thus provides a look behind the scenes, which can be viewed at any time on the website.
Breathe!
Fawns, woodpeckers and squirrels frolic among the forest trees and bees buzz through the air: the message conveyed by the new e-buses in their green mobility outfits is clear: "breathe!" is emblazoned in large letters on the vehicles. And "Better air. With the e-buses".
"The e-buses stand for climate protection, the traffic turnaround and a better quality of life for all Offenbach residents," explains Offenbach's Head of Mobility Sabine Groß. With a well-developed and electrified local transport system, the city is providing an answer to how increased mobility requirements can be met in a modern and climate-friendly way. The ecological and health benefits are enormous. By replacing 36 diesel vehicles with electric buses, over 3,000 tons of CO2 and over 1,300 kilos of NOx could be saved every year.
Offenbach is one of the "pioneers of the traffic turnaround"
Hesse's Minister of Economics, Energy, Transport and Housing, Tarek Al-Wazir, has high praise for his home town and its transport companies. Whether it is the expansion of local public transport, the linking of local public transport and private transport through six mobility stations with electric car and bike sharing or now the electrification of the city bus fleet: the city of Offenbach is one of the "pioneers of the transport revolution".
The state of Hesse was therefore happy to provide financial support for the switch to electric buses. Tarek Al-Wazir: "If you want to see how a climate-friendly mobility system is being created, all you have to do is come to Offenbach."
Milestone in the 136-year history of OVB
"For us," says OVB Managing Director Anja Georgi, "the introduction of the new electric buses is a milestone in the 136-year history of Offenbacher Verkehrs-Betriebe." OVB didn't just change the drive of a few vehicles, but converted the entire operation to a completely new technology. The municipal utility company had spent more than three years preparing for this change. Anja Georgi: "The biggest challenge was the conversion of our depot during ongoing operations."
The state of Hesse has provided 5.2 million euros from the European Structural Fund (ERDF) to support this conversion with a new energy supply and new charging infrastructure as well as 40 percent of the additional costs for the first seven e-buses compared to diesel vehicles. The federal government is providing 80 percent of the additional costs for the additional 29 e-buses already ordered with eight million euros from the Energy and Climate Fund (EKF).
Investment in infrastructure but lower operating costs
"With funding totaling €13.2 million, we were able to make effective use of the funding window," says OVB Managing Director Heiko Linne, who is responsible for commercial operations at the municipal utility company. After deduction of the subsidy, OVB's own contribution will remain at 12.7 million euros. The investment costs would be depreciated in the accounts depending on the respective useful life. According to last year's planning, this would be around 900,000 euros per year based on 2022, when all 36 vehicles and their infrastructure are in operation.
Heiko Linne: "One thing must be clear when switching to electric drive: Switching to electric buses will initially cost more than continuing to use diesel buses." After all, a one-off investment has to be made in the infrastructure, but even if this can only be said after the first few years of operation, he expects lower operating costs compared to diesel buses simply because of the lower number of maintenance-intensive drive components. In addition, e-buses have a longer service life and there are no foreseeable increases in purchasing costs for diesel fuel and any retrofitting of exhaust gas purification technology.
Soon on the road for training purposes in Offenbach
The Offenbach electric buses are charged overnight in the OVB depot with pantographs that can be extended from the bus roof and contact the charging hoods suspended from the ceiling. In addition, the vehicles are temporarily charged after each route at four external charging points at the Kaiserlei turning loop and a charging point at the An den Eichen terminus, which is still at the planning stage. The e-buses are serviced by specially trained service personnel in the OVB workshop, which is fully equipped for this purpose.
The e-buses, which run on green electricity, each have an additional door at the rear for faster passenger changes, a pedestrian warning system when approaching stops, green interior lighting with adjustable light intensity, USB charging sockets, illuminated stop buttons and high-contrast destination indicators.
OVB will soon be using the new electric buses on the roads for training purposes. The vehicles will therefore be seen in the city even before the timetable change.
November 20, 2020
Subsidies
The conversion of the depot with a new energy supply and new charging infrastructure as well as 40 percent of the additional costs for the first seven e-buses compared to diesel vehicles was funded by the state of Hesse with 5.2 million euros from the European Structural Fund (ERDF). The federal government is providing eight million euros from the Energy and Climate Fund (EKF) to cover 80 percent of the additional costs for the other 29 e-buses that have already been ordered.
