Unexpected turn of events in Genoa (Italy): according to leaks reported on the Italian magazine AUTOBUS, public transport operator AMT Genova has cancelled the awarding of the 30 e-bus tender to the Chinese manufacturer Alfabus. This leaves the first place to Solaris, which had come second in the first instance (although following very closely Alfabus).

The Polish bus maker (CAF group) is quite well represented on the Italian e-bus market, where it has been awarded a maxi tender for 250 e-buses by ATM Milano.

The tender launched by the public transport company of Genoa stands out for being the first tender in Italy to gather a broad participation of manufacturers (Alfabus, Solaris, VDL, Irizar, BYD, EvoBus and Iveco). The buses are set to be charged in the depot overnight.

AMT Genoa, the contract goes to Solaris?

As far as the charging technology is concerned, Marco Beltrami, President of AMT Genoa, said: “We are focusing on overnight recharging. We have a depot (Mangini n.d.r.) which is capable of handling up to 60 electric buses and we are currently designing the Cornigliano electric garage. Today we have 10 Rampini 8-metre vehicles in service and we have recently introduced 14 Irizar 10.5-metre vehicles. Another 10 Rampini vehicles will be delivered in the coming months. By the end of 2021 the city of Genoa will have two depots with charging infrastructures and 64 electric buses in operation“.

Highlights

The bus industry’s smartphone moment

On 18 March 1895, at 6:25 in the morning, the world’s first motor bus line opened between Siegen, Netphen and Deuz. The vehicle was a Benz Landauer. It had eight seats, a one-cylinder engine of five horsepower, and fifteen kilometres of bad road ahead of it. On the steepest hill, the passengers had ...

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