BusToCoach on-line Magazine - July-August 2013

LAST May, in Switzerland, it was Geneva’s turn to host the 60th

UITP World Congress and Mobility & City Transport Exhibition, the international event that every two years puts together and evalu-ates ideas and proposals for public transport from around the world (in 2011 it took place in Dubai, UAE).As expected, the figures capturing the event in Geneva are significant: 2,097 participants from 78 countries flocked to 21 sessions to discuss all kind of knowledge about public transport by road and rail; 25,867 visitors and 326 exhibitors.It should be noted, however, that in the face of the virtually unchanged number of exhibitors compared to the previous editions (353 in 1995 in Paris and 315 in 2009 in Vienna), the atten-dance of bus manufacturers has been gradual-ly shrinking, consisting of only fifteen brand names, and in most cases each had only one vehicle on display. Everything else pertained components and public transport management systems in all of its forms.The recurrent theme of the vehicles on display was solutions for sustainable mobility from an environmental perspective. Therefore: Euro VI engines, electric and hybrid buses, and some noteworthy innovations.

UITP Congress in Geneva

A Line of Single BusesThe 60th edition of UITP World Congress & Exhibition featured

a taste of the various innovative solutions for sustainable mobility offered by international bus manufacturers

To start with, at the Iveco stand the passing of the baton took place between the Irisbus brand, with its stylised dolphin logo, and the new Iveco Bus brand name, which from now will be found on the grille to all models. This was also the occasion to launch Urbanway, the new citybus range (diesel, CNG and hybrid), characterised by a more aggressive aesthetic than the previous Citelis model and by comple-tely redesigned interiors aimed at passengers comfort and ergonomic features for the driver. More than anything, this was the also the oc-casion to showcase the new engines Tector 7 and Cursor 9, Euro VI compliant thanks to the Hi-eSCR system patented by FPT Industrial for the reduction of NOx emissions without the use of EGR (exhaust gas recirculation). A 12-metre version Urbanway with 360 hp en-gine (265 kW) and a capacity of up to 102 passengers could be seen on display.Euro VI engines were also featured on the new Citaro bus by Mercedes (the 12.1-metre ver-sion on display won ‘Bus of the Year 2013’ award), already in production since the end of last year, thus ahead of all its competitors . The complete renewal of the Citaro Euro VI range is underway and by next autumn it will comprise as many as 18 different model va-

EURO VI READY

IVECO BUS - Urbanway

Fuel Cell

MERCEDES - Citaro C2

SCANIA

riants. Also, by the end of 2013 900 Euro VI Citaro will be delivered out of a total of 1,700 Daimler buses equipped with the new engines (Mercedes and Setra). Compared to their pre-decessors, they offer a significant decrease in fuel consumption: the 12.1-metre Citaro is 8.5 percent more efficient while fuel saving for the articulated model amount to more than 6 per-cent. Also thanks to the recuperation module that stores energy in double-layer capacitors (Supercaps) which can later be used during acceleration.In the open-air section dedicated to test drives there was also one of the five Mercedes Citaro FuelCELL Hybrid in service for PostBus Swi-tzeland Ltd in Brugg since late 2011.There was no real bus exhibited at the Sca-nia stand, just a cardboard model. This way Scania preferred to channel the attention in the display area (via static panels as well video) on its transport systems and technology solutions. From the dedicated lanes of Johannesburg in South Africa and in Cambridge (UK) to the BRT systems implemented in Chanzhou (Chi-na) and Bogota (Colombia), the aim was to emphasise the characteristics of the “Bus Sy-stem by Scania”: flexibility, rationality, effi-ciency and sustainability. In terms of traction systems, Scania distanced itself from hybrid drives (which it has been researching for about 20 years), since they are not considered co-st-effective and reliable in view of current energy storage systems.The preference is to rely on new Euro VI diesel engines and on the use of renewable fuels: ethanol, biodiesel, bio-gas and gas with which Scania has more than thirty years of experience. This is the reason for displaying its natural gas engine (compres-sed CNG or liquefied LNG), the 9.3-litre OC09 engine, five-cylinder, Euro VI compliant, 280 hp or 340 hp.The center-stage at the Man exhibit area was taken over by the entire length of the 18.75-me-tre Lion’s City GL, driven by the D20 engine with 360 horsepower and EGR, SCR, CRTec filter technologies to meet Euro VI emission standard. This unit is part of a batch of 50 buses that Man will deliver to the city of Lau-sanne later this year.Eco-friendly engines, ready to meet next year deadline, were also seen at the sand of Turki-sh manufacturer Otokar who showcased a 9.2-metre low-entry Vectio C with Man D0836

EURO VI READY

SOLARIS - Urbino 18

TEMSA - MD 9 LE OTOKAR - Vectio C

MAN - Lion’s City GL TAM DURABUS - Vive TL

LOH 73 Euro VI engine of 250 horsepower, combined with Voith automatic transmission and with a capacity of 25 seated passengers, 32 standing and one wheelchair. The other vehi-cle on display was a the 12-metre Kent C, a low-floor city bus fitting up to 110 passengers, also powered by a Man EuroV/EEV engine.Euro VI Cummins engines for the multipurpo-se 9.6-metre Lives TL intercity bus, by Slove-nian manufacturer TAM Durabus, were only announced as forthcoming. TAM Durabus is the company born from the ashes of historical company TVM, thanks to Chinese and Dutch investments. It offers a wide range of models, including diesel vehicles of 9 and 12.3 metres, electric buses of 12.3 metres and airport buses up to 14.7 metres.A Euro VI engine is also on the way for 9.5-metre MD 9 LE by Temsa which remains loyal to the Cummins brand but replaces the 4 cylinder ISB4.5 E5 of 207 hp with the 6-cylin-der ISB6.7 E6 of 250 hp, combined with Al-lison automatic transmission. The interior equipment of the vehicle on display featured two colours to differentiate between the Class I (green) and Class II (orange) variants. The first model can fit up to 30 seats + 4 folding seats and wheelchair, while the Class II model fits 33 seats and a total of 57 passengers.The articulated Urbino 18 by Solaris also im-plemented Euro VI engines by switching to the 10.8 litres DAF MX11 of 368 hp, on di-splay alongside the 12-metre long Urbino with electric drive (introduced in 2012) with 160 kW engine, 210 kW lithium-ion batteries and Konvekta air conditioning system with CO2 heat pump. It offers three different charging solutions. A plug-in connection which can be specified as a DC connection with external charging station or as an AC connection with an on-board charger. The second solution is in-ductive charging via a pick-up coil fitted under the vehicle. And finally, it is possible to opt for the use of a roof-mounted connection system for automatic recharging.VDL Bus & Coach featured a world premiere with the launch of the batteries and electric dri-ve version of the Citea SLF low-floor city bus with a length of 12 metres and a running range of 200 kilometres. In addition to the basic solu-tion with electric motors in the wheel hubs on the rear axle and relatively large battery pack, one can opt for less demanding batteries powe-

ELECTRIC RECHARGING

SOLARIS - Urbino 12 EL

VDL BUS & COACH - Citea EL

BOMBARDIER / RAMPINI - Alè EL Primove

red by periodical quick-charging methods such as induction, trolley or plug-in.Plug-in technology for charging at bus termi-nuses via a collector installed on the roof of the vehicle is the novelty offered by Volvo for the 7900 Hybrid bus. Measuring 12 metres in length it makes use of a series-hybrid system that consists of a small 5-litre diesel engine and an electric engine powered by lithium-ion batteries. It reduces fuel consumption by 75% compared to traditional diesel buses and has a ‘full electric” running range of 7 kilometres. The plug-in hybrid by Volvo will be subject to evaluation for a period of two years in Gothen-burg, Sweden, after which serial production is scheduled for the second half of 2015.To better manage bus driving, optimising con-sumption, safety and passenger comfort, Volvo introduced the I-Coaching unit, a small box lo-cated on the dashboard that monitors the main driving parameters (engine speed, braking and acceleration, vehicle speed and steering), provi-ding instant feedback when limits are exceeded.Among all the various charging systems, it is worth noting the Primove by Bombardier, a transit bus with in-route charging via inductive power units built into the route roadway, alre-ady in use in Mannheim (Germany) on Hess vehicles and in Bruges (Belgium) on Van Hool vehicles. The presentation at UITP in Geneva was done in combination with the Alè Electric by Italian company Rampini.Electric traction with batteries was also seen for the 12-metre long vehicles by Chinese manu-facturers BYD and Youngman. The first, cal-led ‘BYD ebus’ has two doors and a low-floor non-step passenger cabin (with two full height compartments on the front wheel hubs). Bat-teries are its proclaimed strength. They are are Iron-Phosphate batteries (built by BYD) with a capacity of 600 Ah delivering 324 kWh of power, rechargeable in 5 hours through the 80kW AC on-board system with a running ran-ge of 250 km in urban conditions and 10 years duration (4,000 recharging cycles). Movement is transmitted by two permanent-magnet bru-shless AC synchronous engines delivering 90 kW, mounted on the rear axle.The low-entry electric bus by Youngman had an interesting interior layout. In the lowered cabin section the seats are facing the corridor and are mounted on a high base to the side walls. The base also works as storage space for the four

ELECTRIC RECHARGING

VOLVO - 7900 Hybrid Plug-in

BYD - Ebus

EBUSCO - ElectricYOUNGMAN - Electric

battery packs of 35 kWh that power the electric engine with permanent magnets of 120 kW.In the open-air section dedicated to test drives it was possible to see another Chinese electric bus, the same exhibited last year at the IAA. It was a 11.5-metre low-entry city bus made by Zhuhai Guangtong Car, with electric system by Zhuhai Yintong New Power Tech and cu-stomised by Dutch company Ebusco that also takes care of its commercialisation in Europe.The multi-hybrid solution proposed by French company Safra could only be seen on paper at their stand. It takes the name of Businova, it measure 10.5 metres in length and it features very original looks (see article BusToCoach May 2013).There were also trolleybuses. In the fore-ground, Van Hool exhibited the 8.6 metres long Exqui.City with the Geneva design, of which 33 units have been ordered by TPG, the public transport company of the Swiss canton.Emphasising the possibilities offered by the Exqui.City multi-propulsion platform, in Gene-va the Belgian manufacturer also presented the 22.8-metre bi-articulated hybrid diesel-electric bus built for the city of Barcelona (TMB or-dered 3 units) and the 23.8-metre BRT hybrid bus for the French city of Metz (27 vehicles that will start service in October). After only two years since its launch, as many as 92 Exqui.City vehicles have already been sold. In addition to those already mentioned, they also include 9 18-metre trolleybuses for Par-ma (Italy), the 5 24-metre hybrids for Luxem-bourg and 15 24-metre hybrid CNG for Malmo (Scandinavia).At the Stadler Rail AG stand one could see the 18.7-metre trolleybus Vitovt Max Duo 43303A by Belkommunmash (Belarus), sporting roun-ded outlines and covering bands to mask the electrical equipment on the roof, equipped with a diesel generator for autonomous driving. The unusual internal layout consists of a raised dri-ver’s area that is two stairs above the corridor and completely isolated from the passenger area.There was also an 18.7-metre trolleybus by Swiss company Hess, both in the classic ver-sion and with the new rounded front look, also on display in the open-air section with the co-lours of the TOSA project (Trolleybus Optimi-sation Systeme Alimentation).The 61st edition of the UITP World Congress will take place in Milan in 2015. •

WITH THE TROLLEY ON THE ROOF

VAN HOOL - Exqui.City Geneva

Exqui.City Mettis

Exqui.City TMB

BELKOMMUNMASH / STADLER - Vitovt Max Duo

HESS - Trolleybus 02788