17 more e-buses will soon join the city bus fleet
30.04.2021 – And the diesels will always be humming? Not at all, the alternatives have long been rolling. The seven e-buses that have been in use since the timetable change at the end of 2020 are now being joined by a further 17. They will be gradually registered from Monday, 3 May and will be running on routes 104, 105, 106, 107 and 108 over the next few weeks. This means that 24 electric buses will soon be driving through Offenbach in an almost silent and environmentally friendly manner. By the end of the year, there should be 36. More than 40 percent of the 87 city buses will then already be battery-electric.
With the commissioning of the second tranche of vehicles funded by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Offenbacher Verkehrs-Betriebe is taking another major step towards gradually converting its bus fleet to locally emission-free electric drives. This is made possible by the considerable funding from the federal and state governments, despite the tight budget.
The message conveyed by the quiet giants in their green mobility outfits is clear: "Breathe!", read the large letters on the vehicles. And: "Better air. With the e-buses". This message is underlined by the motif emblazoned on the e-buses: fawns, woodpeckers and squirrels cavort in front of a local forest backdrop and bees buzz along.
Sabine Groß, Head of Mobility:
"We are demonstrating this: The e-buses are driving for the protection of the climate, for the traffic turnaround and directly noticeably for a better quality of life for the people in our growing city."
Experience e-buses virtually
However, OVB is not simply putting its electric buses into service without a second thought. The new Solaris Urbino buses, which stand out in the cityscape, will be advertised for a year with a comprehensive image campaign. This ranges from stickers on the vehicles, posters and advertisements in the media to flyers and information at bus stops and on the large displays in the buses, as well as press and social media publications. In addition, there is an attractive, partly interactive website with 3D technology and changing hands-on activities such as a digital Easter egg hunt in a virtual electric bus, which celebrated its premiere on this occasion.
Visitors to the website can continue to explore this 3D e-bus from the outside and inside on a virtual tour. Various hotspots are waiting to be clicked on and then explain the technology and equipment, from charging via the pantograph on the roof and the acoustic pedestrian warning system to the additional rear door for faster passenger changes, the USB sockets inside the vehicle and the adjustable green Ambient Light interior lighting.
Ride the bus with a good feeling
"Riding an e-bus should be fun and give you the good feeling of traveling with a clean means of transport," says OVB Managing Director Anja Georgi, explaining the campaign. Especially in times of the pandemic, it is important to win back passengers for public transport, introduce people to the new e-bus technology and take a step into the future of mobility together with them.
According to City Councillor Sabine Groß, there is no increased risk of infection in the vehicles thanks to the FFP2 mask requirement, the daily cleaning and disinfection of the passenger compartment and the new antiviral filters with which all e-buses are retrofitted.
Competitions about e-buses and environmentally friendly mobility
Offenbach's Green Mobility Hero will soon be sought. Who should that be? Someone who gets around as environmentally friendly as possible, preferably by public transport, in their everyday working life, in their leisure time or on vacation, and knows how to answer a few quiz questions on the subject of mobility. The winners receive a trophy made of old wood and win 1,000, 500 or 250 euros. However, they will not receive the money themselves, but Offenbacher Verkehrs-Betriebe will donate it to a regional environmental organization chosen by the winners.
Of course, there will also be other competitions such as the letter salad. This will be presented on the roofs of ten virtually assembled e-buses. If you put them in the right order, you will find a solution word and, with a bit of luck, win a prize.
Further online campaigns planned
And the website will not only feature interesting statements on public transport from well-known testimonials or funny short clips from everyday mobility, but there will also be challenges waiting for visitors. The CO2 challenge, for example, is a kind of self-experiment with a change in transportation, in which the participants give up their cars for a week and record their experiences with the mobility alternatives as an "Insta-Story" in a (mobile) video diary.
Further campaigns are in preparation. "It's worth checking the website every now and then," says Suzanne Göttlinger from Corporate Communications at Stadtwerke, the creative mind behind the e-bus advertising campaign together with Gabi Klußmann. "We are aiming for a positive user experience: riding an e-bus is environmentally friendly and sustainable and you simply feel good about it."
May 01, 2021
All information and campaigns on the e-buses:
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.
