Brisbane City Council will trial hybrid buses next year under a new contract agreement with Volvo
November 21, 2013
Brisbane City Council will trial the use of hybrid buses in the coming year in a new contract agreement with Volvo Bus Australia.
The company has recently been awarded a three-year arrangement to supply at least 180 chassis to the council, including the trial of a new hybrid diesel-electric model.
The number of buses which will be hybrid is still to be determined, but there will definitely be at least one.
The hybrid diesel-electric model utilises energy otherwise wasted during braking and the stored energy is used to charge a battery – allowing the bus to run in electric mode – which saves fuel.
The parallel hybrid can also combine or solely use the output of the diesel engine when the battery is low or when extra power is needed for acceleration.
Council currently has a contract with Volgren, which will build the bus body on the chassis supplied by Volvo.
In 2011, council won the inaugural Lung Foundation Green Leaf Award for its introduction of the Volvo B7RLE enhanced environmentally friendly vehicle.
Under the new arrangement, council has committed to purchasing more of the B7RLEs in the first year.
Brisbane City Council Public and Active Transport Chairman Peter Matic says Volvo provided the most competitive tender submission and its response met council’s tender requirements in the key areas.”
Volvo’s National Contracts Manager Ian Clarke says: “the hybrids have recently been trialled in metropolitan Perth with promising results and we’re looking forward to seeing them in service in Brisbane”.
He says a complete offering incorporating whole-of-life product costs, service and support was developed for council.
“We’ve worked well with Brisbane City Council over the past five years, including supplying over 300 buses for use across council’s vast network.”