Germany, carrier RSVG to deploy 6 e-buses from BYD

The Rhein-Sieg-Verkehrsgesellschaft (RSVG) operator in Germany is set to deploy six BYD K9UD electric buses in the city of North Rhine-Westphalia, not far from Cologne.

The’ll be based at the Hennef depot and will have their own newly created charging infrastructure there. The six electric buses complement the 200 vehicles in the RSVG fleet.

RSVG electric buses coming from BYD

The vehicles are charged stationary at the depot using CCS plugs. The charging process takes place with up to 40 kW, so that the buses are fully operational again in around eight to twelve hours, the operator states.

The vehicles were procured as part of a grant from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection. The volume for the six electric buses deployed to date totals around 2.6 million euros. Around 46% of the costs are subsidised, the carrier says. The remaining additional costs are borne by Rhein-Sieg-Verkehrsgesellschaft mbH.

“Buses with electric drive behave differently than a classic diesel or hybrid bus. In order to maximise the benefits, we are currently training our drivers intensively on the new buses,” reports Volker Otto, Managing Director of RSVG.

“We are delighted to be making our contribution to the transport revolution with the electric buses,” says Marcus Kitz, Chairman of the RSVG Supervisory Board.