De Lijn to procure 350 electric buses. Tender expected shortly

350 e-buses up for grabs in Belgium, where public transport company De Lijn is about to issue a tender with value up to 230 million euros (vehicles + charging infrastructures). 60 vehicles are expected to be operation within 2021, according to report on The Brussels Times.

Flemish carrier has been heavily investing in alternative drive buses since a few years now, with large batch of hybrid buses ordered with VDL (200 units in December 2019, another batch of 70 in 2020). This will be the first tender for pure battery-electric buses.

De Lijn plans to buy nearly 1,000 electric buses over 15 years. To this extent, last year the operator demanded an additional financing to the Flemish government, as the massive introduction of electric buses would require an investment of over one billion euro, much more than the resources currently planned.

De Lijn is determined to make its entire fleet emission-free by 2035. This first tender for e-buses will not only make a fine contribution to a better environment, but it is also an important milestone in the transformation of De Lijn into a more performant public transport company that can better anticipate the needs and expectations of the travellers

Ann Schoubs, Director General of De Lijn

De Lijn to issue a tender for 350 e-buses

De Lijn’s fleet renewal plan, through introduction of low and zero emission buses, is expected to bring to a reduction of emissions by 78% within five years. As reported on Electrive, De Lijn plans to introduce the first 60 e-buses by autumn 2022: contracts are to be awarded to two suppliers, «with the option of reordering electric buses in several phases later. These electric buses must be able to travel at least 220 kilometres without a charging stop under the most difficult conditions».

“De Lijn is determined to make its entire fleet emission-free by 2035. This first tender for e-buses will not only make a fine contribution to a better environment, but it is also an important milestone in the transformation of De Lijn into a more performant public transport company that can better anticipate the needs and expectations of the travellers,” said Ann Schoubs, Director General of De Lijn, at The Brussels Time.