“The eCitaro is one of the best vehicles we have ever had,” says Harald Borrelbach, Head of Maintenance and Repair at the Luxembourg bus company Emile Weber. And he can confirm this in two ways with regard to the field of application of the Mercedes-Benz electric bus, as the eCitaro is used by Emile Weber on urban routes as well as interurban routes. On all bus routes, the eCitaro is characterised by high levels of availability and, at the same time, it scores high marks with proven technology.

A total of 48 eCitaro buses are currently in use at Emile Weber, with more to follow this year. The first Mercedes-Benz electric buses were already delivered to the company in 2019, so Emile Weber has a wealth of experience with three battery generations and the immense progress they have made. The range has roughly doubled from the first NMC1 battery generation to the latest generation of NMC3 batteries, according to the experience of Harald Borrelbach, who is delighted and explains: “this is a huge leap at almost the same weight (plus 500 kilogrammes).”

Emile Weber’s city version of the eCitaro is in service on Autobus de la Ville de Luxembourg (AVL) routes. The buses are “very colourful on the road”, says Cyrille Horper from the Mobility department at Emile Weber, referring to the striking exterior design of the electric buses. AVL route 26 is completely electrified. Charging takes place overnight using a plug at the depot and during the day it is recharged using a pantograph. The buses boast high-quality equipment, as Horper emphasises. Among other things, they have USB ports, air conditioning and surveillance cameras. Accordingly, the eCitaro is also very well received by passengers, according to Horper: “people simply notice when an electric bus pulls up.”

In addition to this city bus variant, Emile Weber also has the eCitaro in a kind of intercity version in its fleet. These electric buses operate on the more rural RGTR network, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg’s intercity network organised by the Ministry of Mobility. Many RGTR routes serviced by the eCitaro start and end at Luxexpo bus station, where there is a connection to the tramway. The routes even cross borders. An important target group on the RGTR routes are commuters, explains Cyrille Horper.

It goes without saying that the electric interurban buses also feature high-quality equipment. All buses have seat belts, USB ports and air conditioning. The seating system is based on the following principle: as many seats as possible and as comfortable as possible. And as on the city bus routes, the same applies to intercity transport: the failure rates for the eCitaro are minimal. When asked what bus drivers particularly appreciate about the eCitaro, Harald Borrelbach immediately says: "the electric bus has also always remained a Citaro. It meets the high standards of Mercedes-Benz buses and you can see how it benefits from the experiences gained with the model series. Drivers really appreciate the fact that they can find everything in the eCitaro in the places they are used to from diesel-powered buses."