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World premiere for Volvo’s hybrid bus in G?teborg

When Volvo’s new hybrid bus now for the first time begins to carry passengers, it is happening in G?teborg. The G?teborgs Sp?rv?gar transit company is participating in a field test with the hybrid bus that provides major fuel savings as a result of electric drive and shutting off the diesel engine at bus stops.

Environmental issues are high on the agenda among politicians in G?teborg and this applies to a great extent within traffic policy. There are distinct environmental demands the entire way from the politicians in the traffic committee, through the officials at the city’s Traffic Office and those responsible for procurement at the V?sttrafik county public services agency to the operators, including G?teborgs Sp?rv?gar.

“A consistent and systematic environmental effort is the core of V?sttraffik’s strategy,” says Leif Blomqvist, V?sttrafik’s Board Chairman. “We must be at the forefront in offering long-term sustainable travel. Seizing on new technologies is important for us and with the hybrid bus, exhaust emissions and noise are reduced.”

Hybrid solutions for heavy vehicles have existed for many years, but they have been too expensive and reduced emissions too little, as a result of which they did not achieve market penetration. The Volvo Group’s new hybrid technology changes this. The company has developed a technology that is common for buses, trucks and construction equipment. In this manner, the Group secures large component volumes and subsequently lower costs.

Silent at bus stops
Volvo’s hybrid bus is equipped with two engines working together, a diesel engine that due to electric drive could be made smaller than usual, and an electric motor. The bus can be driven with both engines operating together or one or the other singly, which is one of the major benefits of the parallel hybrid technology used by the Volvo Group.

When the bus brakes, the braking energy is recycled and stored in a battery mounted on the roof of the bus. This energy is then used to drive the electric motor. When the doors open at the bus stop, the diesel engine is shut off entirely. The bus then starts solely powered by the electric motor and first when the bus reaches a speed of 15-20 km/h, the diesel engines starts automatically.

Volvo’s hybrid technology contributes to a quieter and cleaner city environment. Fuel consumption, and consequently the emission of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, is reduced by up to 30% depending on where the bus is operating in traffic. The emission of nitrous oxides and particles declines by 40-50% compared with a conventional diesel bus.

“We reduce energy consumption per passenger by 50-75%, compared with using an automobile,” says Edward Jobson, Environmental Director at Volvo Buses. “With such major environmental gains and such large savings in fuel costs, we are convinced that hybrid buses will become extremely attractive and a difficult-to-beat alternative for personal transportation within a few years.”

Series production 2010
Volvo expects to start series production of hybrid buses at the beginning of 2010. The company has already received its first orders for the bus, including customers in Luxemburg and Switzerland. The field tests now starting in G?teborg are intended for making the final fine adjustments.

It was natural for G?teborgs Sp?rv?gar to participate in the field test.

“Our goal is to be the frontrunner and, accordingly, we strive continuously to reduce the negative environmental impact of bus traffic,” says Pierre Modini, Operations Manager at G?teborgs Sp?rv?gar Buss AB. “Naturally, testing new environmental technology in our buses is important to us.”

In the near future, Volvo Buses will also start field tests with the first of six hybrid double-decker buses in London.