Scania delivers its first electric bus to SA Govt

Scania has delivered its first battery electric bus in Australia to the Department for Infrastructure and Transport in South Australia, and it will soon be put into service in Adelaide.

“We are delighted to place this bus into the hands of our DIT operator partners,” said Manfred Streit, Managing Director of Scania Australia.

“This delivery marks a key milestone for Scania Buses and Coaches in Australia. It is a tangible first step on the road to a transformational public transport future, and one that Scania is very much pushing for wider adoption.

“Globally, Scania has been working on transitioning to a zero tailpipe bus solution for many years and we have several cities in Europe already well advanced in their integration of Scania’s 100% battery power buses into their fleets,” Manfred said.

“We see no reason why route bus operators in Australia cannot follow suit. Our buses provide quiet, clean and safe transport.”

“The Scania BEV solution has proven to be a significant step forward in terms of performance as seen in pre-delivery testing in real world conditions,” says Julian Gurney, Director of Sales for Scania Australia Bus and Power Solutions.

“The testing was undertaken on routes around Adelaide and the BEV bus, loaded with several tonnes of ballast to simulate passengers, coped admirably with the terrain, the congestion and the distances required for a full day’s work.

The first Scania BEV bus was imported from Scania in Sweden in component form and assembled by Bustech in Adelaide, Bustech then built a version of its existing VST body, modified for electric propulsion, dubbed VST-E onto the chassis.

The 12.5 m body seats 41 plus driver with room for nine standees. There are also two wheelchair positions within the saloon.

The Scania New Bus Generation introduces a completely new and simple-to-use electro-pneumatic park brake, with multiple built-in safety features, which include removing the possibility of bus roll-away.

At the rear of the vehicle, under the hatch, in place of the traditional internal combustion engine are four battery stacks, while a further six are mounted on the roof. They allow the Scania BEV bus to have a working range of around 280km on a single charge, and have a working life of up to 10 years, depending on driving conditions and operating environment.

Peak electric motor power is 300kW, with 250kW available for continuous use. Each battery is rated at 33kW/h for a total of 330kW/h. Maximum torque is 2100Nm. Acceleration velocity is limited for passenger comfort, and top speed is also limited to 85km/h.

A universal CCS2 charger is mounted on the driver’s side of the bus externally close to the front wheel and allows 130kW charging. As such the batteries can be fully charged in around 90 minutes. The flat floor compatible chassis uses a portal drive axle at the rear with a 6.19:1 ratio.

“Scania very much welcomes the arrival of the first fully electric bus to our portfolio and to the DIT route bus fleet for Adelaide. This is a momentous day for all of the people involved in the programme, and we look forward to adding further examples of this technology to the Australian operating environment in the very near future,” Julian Gurney said.