The electric minibus will begin a cycle of empty tests, in which it will perform about 4,000 kilometers simulating bus routes of the neighborhood bus and later it will start its service with passengers.
The minibus has been designed for intensive urban use in high-demanding routes with autonomy for 16 hours of circulation, even when the air conditioning is running, as usual in summer months. Regarding the sustainability of the operation, it has been ensured that the vehicle has low maintenance costs and above all that the batteries are modular and easily accessible through the rear door. Thus, its virtues make it extrapolated to any operation in another European city.
The main features of the new electric minibus are the following:
Dimensions: 7.21 meters long and 2.43 meters wide
Maximum capacity: 22 passengers
Seats: 8 + 2 folding
Accessibility: central low platform, ramp, 1 seat for wheelchairs
Batteries: EBUST of Millor Battery, 135kWh, intelligent and modular, with more than 4,000 life cycles equivalent to 10 years of operation.
Electric motor: 140 kW of power
Chassis: Strada of Iveco
Barcelona’s city needed a sustainable vehicle for collective commuting, such as this zero-emission minibus capable of operating effectively a whole day at any time of the year.
The minibus has been developed entirely by Catalan companies a result of two years of work by TMB, the city’s transport operator, Applus Idiada, an engineering and testing company, the bodybuilder specialized in minibuses Indicar, Eurecat’s technology center and the battery manufacturer Millor Battery. The project has been developed within one of the RIS3CAT communities for research and innovation and co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund of the European Union within the framework of the Operational Program FEDER of Catalonia 2014-2020.
This minibus aims to improve Barcelona’s mobility and take a step forward towards a more sustainable and energy efficient transport system.