Netherlands Launched All-Electric Bus Service

Leading manufacturer of environment-friendly battery technologies BYD delivered six electric buses Thursday in a ceremony at the island home of city of Schiermonnikoog, and the Netherlands’ first National Park in the province of Friesland, Netherlands.

“Friesland province now leads Europe in green transportation. We will soon have a fully electrified public transportation service with these six BYD electric buses. This is good for Schiermonnikoog, good for tourism, and great for the environment!” stated Friesland Provincial executive director Johannes Kramer.

The six vehicles will be operated by Arriva and entered service after a special ceremony in the park located in the north of Netherlands.

The vehicles were awarded in June 2012 in Europe’s first publically tendered order for electric-powered full size buses and are planned to provide visitors and residents with an environment-friendly public transport system for the next 15 years.

BYD’s Electric Bus model is a full-size, 12-meter (40 foot) transit bus powered entirely by the company’s Iron Phosphate batteries.

The BYD buses are comparable to the buses now servicing Schiermonnikoog in terms of size and can accommodate 60-70 passengers. However, the BYD electric bus can be charged at night and with a range of over 250 Km per charge ( > 155 miles ), they can provide service all day without needing another charge.

This project supports Friesland province’s published goals to be fully independent of fossil fuels. They have identified that over a third of CO₂ emissions in the province are the result of traffic and transportation pollution; therefore, they have chosen to electrify public transportation.

According to the company, the bus has no direct emissions, very low noise, regenerative braking, and full AC charging in 5 hours.