Carbon-electric bus Ebusco 3.0 operates in Munich for MVG Line

By 2035, the Munich Transport Company (MVG) aims to convert its entire fleet to electric power – a further step in this direction was marked by the acquisition of two Ebusco 3.0 on December 17. MVG has ordered a total of four buses of the Ebusco 3.0 type, which are to be delivered by 2023.

“We are very pleased to be able to put this innovative vehicle into operation as the world's first customer and to incorporate our experiences from Munich into the further development of the vehicle. In the fourth Ebusco 3.0, which is to be delivered in 2023, optimizations and wishes that arose from the operation have already been implemented," explains Veit Bodenschatz, Head of the Bus Department at Munich Transport Company (MVG).

One of the two Dutch electric buses, manufactured at the Ebusco plant in Deurne, is to be used on city bus lines 100 and 144, saving approximately 1 kg of CO₂ per kilometer driven. The second Ebusco electric bus of the latest generation is being prepared to participate in the TEMPUS pilot project for so-called “platooning.” In platooning, several vehicles drive in close succession using electronic control, with only the front vehicle being driven by a driver while all following vehicles operate autonomously.

Details: Load-bearing structure made of carbon

The Ebusco 3.0 is largely made of composite material, as used in the aerospace industry, with the load-bearing structure of the body made of carbon. Due to the low vehicle weight of less than 10 tons, only a single tire is needed on each side of an axle, making the wheel arches in the interior particularly narrow. This allows the floor to be flat and without steps from front to rear. As a result, the vehicle is completely barrier-free inside for mobility-impaired passengers. Ebusco states the range of its lightweight electric buses is up to 575 km on a single charge, making recharging during the day unnecessary in most cases.