Seventy new articulated e-buses for Brussels MIVB/STIB

The Brussels public transport company MIVB/STIB has welcomed the first of 70 articulated, all-electric buses. De eCitaro buses will replace the last Euro 5 buses still in circulation, which, due to the tightening of the low emission zone (LEZ), may no longer be used from 2025.

The Marly depot in Neder-Over-Heembeek is also being expanded and redeveloped to eventually accommodate only fully electric buses. “By 2035, all of our 850 buses must be replaced by all-electric buses,” says Brieuc de Meeûs, MIVB/STIB CEO. With this order added, we are close to a tenth of that.

€820,000 per bus

The eCitaro is from German manufacturer Mercedes-Benz, and one costs 820,000 euros, double that of a diesel bus of the same model. The buses are scheduled to enter service in the second part of September, after which about 55 more will follow this year. The others will be delivered gradually until 2026.

The buses have a range of 200 km and are of the “opportunity charging” type. The batteries must be charged at night in the depot and on the grid at the terminus (in a maximum of six minutes). Also, the new buses are “articulated” and, therefore, have a greater capacity—they are equipped with a low floor, four doors, and a pantograph.

No more mirrors

The interior of the new buses is more modern, and the front side mirrors have disappeared. These are cameras that send images directly to the driver. They are smaller than large mirrors, reduce the risk of collisions, and help reduce the problem of blind spots.

Also new in terms of safety is installing sensors throughout the bus, a few centimeters off the ground, to alert the driver in case of impending contact. The main novelty is on the roof: thanks to a pantograph, a kind of articulated arm that can be stretched, these 100% electric models can be charged at a high socket so that the bus does not always have to return to the depot to be recharged.

Most of the redevelopment work for the depots should be completed by the end of 2024. The depots must also be further electrified. The Haren and Jacques Brel depots are already partly electrified, but the Marly depot should also become fully electric. Eventually, it will be 35,000 m² in size and able to accommodate more than 200 e-buses. 

Price tag of €60 million

MIVB/STIB currently has 37 all-electric buses, including five minibusses, in the city center. With these new vehicles, it will soon have 107 all-electric buses.

The new buses—which are 18 meters long, weigh 30 tons, and can carry 130 passengers—will be used on lines 46 (Moortebeek-Pannenhuis), 53 (Westland-Shopping-Military Hospital), 87 (Simonis-Beekkant), and 89 (Westland-Shopping-Central Station).

The order amounts to nearly 60 million euros. Meanwhile, MIVB/STIB has already placed a new order for 36 ordinary e-buses, the first of which will be delivered in 2026. Again, eCitaros from the German manufacturer have been chosen.

Asked why a company with production in Belgium was not chosen, MIVB/STIB replied that European procurement rules with an international market consultation bind it. “There are many criteria involved,” says MIVB/STIB. “For example, it is a question of which suppliers can meet the demand, what they can offer, and what the best value for money is. In these two cases, Mercedes-Benz came out on top.”