The Swiss companies VBG Verkehrsbetriebe Glattal AG and Basler Verkehrsbetriebe are perfect examples of how similar charging technologies can be used in different ways.
Omnibus Magazine
Enormous ranges with the eCitaro.
eCitaros with charging rail or pantograph on the roof ensure 19 hours of non-stop operation at Swiss public transport companies.
Enormous ranges with the eCitaro.
eCitaros with charging rail or pantograph on the roof ensure 19 hours of non-stop operation at Swiss public transport companies.
Can a battery-electric scheduled-service bus really run for 19 hours straight? Opportunity charging makes it possible. Opportunity charging refers to the short-term recharging of the drive batteries, for example during a break at the final stop of a line, using a pantograph and charging rail. The Swiss public transport company VBG Verkehrsbetrieb Glattal AG (VBG) near Zurich is one of the pioneers of this technology: in 2021, the world’s first Mercedes‑Benz eCitaro with a charging rail on the roof started test operation here on the 759 innovation line. The test was so successful that VBG has been operating its 759 line exclusively with electric buses equipped in this way since 2023.
Fast charging with up to 300 kW charging capacity.
A total of eight eCitaro solo buses with charging rails on the roof now run every quarter of an hour from five a.m. to midnight along the 27.4 kilometre route between the towns north and north-east of Zurich and Zurich Kloten Airport, making this the longest electric bus route in Switzerland.
VBG has installed a five-metre-high charging station with a so-called top-down pantograph at the final stop at the airport. When a bus with a charging rail parks under the charging station, the pantograph lowers itself from above onto the charging rail mounted on the bus roof. The eCitaro batteries are now charged with up to 300 kW.
“The eCitaro with roof charging rail has proven to be extremely reliable in practical use.”
Up to 370 kilometres in use every day.
After completing each lap on the 759 line, the buses only hang around at the airport stop for around eight to ten minutes. “This is sufficient to supply the eCitaro with enough energy for the next lap on the line”, says Tino Kunz, Head of Marketing and Communications at VBG. At night, slow and gentle charging at the depot also ensures that the batteries are at full capacity for work the next morning. This charging strategy means that the eCitaro needs just eight battery packs with a total of 264 kWh to cover a daily range of up to 370 kilometres – no matter the weather.
“The eCitaro with roof charging rail has proven to be extremely reliable in practical use”, says Tino Kunz. ‘The eCitaro is very popular with drivers and we have even received unsolicited praise from passengers for the use of the Mercedes-Benz eCitaro,’ says Kunz. Good reasons then for VBG Glattal to equip more routes with electric buses. The first eCitaro articulated buses – not with a charging rail, but with a plug for charging at the depot – have already been ordered.
eCitaro with pantograph also in Basel.
However, VBG Verkehrsbetriebe Glattal AG is not the only public transport company in Switzerland that uses the eCitaro with rapid charging technology on the roof. For example, Basel-based Verkehrs-Betriebe (BVB) operates 19 eCitaro solo buses and 38 eCitaro articulated buses, all of which are equipped with a pantograph on the roof. However, even though it operates on similar technology, this company uses a very different charging strategy to VBG Glattal: here, the pantograph is mainly used for charging at the depot. Only on the 36 line is there additional opportunity charging for the eCitaro G. The eCitaro drives up to 320 kilometres a day in Basel – almost around the clock. Fast charging with pantograph and high charging capacity make it possible.
