According to CEO Brieuc de Meeûs, the Brussels public transport company MIVB/STIB will launch a tender next week to order 300 new all-electric buses. This is stated in several media outlets, including Le Soir and Bruzz.
The plan is to deploy the new buses in 2028 and 2029. Some 450 fully electric MIVB/STIB buses are expected to be in service by then, accounting for approximately half of the fleet, compared with 88 at present.
All electric by 2035
Of the nearly 860 buses owned by MIVB/STIB, more than half were already hybrid or electric in 2023. Another 106 eCitaro vehicles from Daimler (Mercedes) will be added by 2026.
With this new order, MIVB/STIB is well on its way to having an all-electric bus fleet by 2035, a goal that cannot be avoided, given that the Brussels region has decided to ban all diesel and gasoline vehicles by 2035.
€1 billion for the switch to electric
Yet CEO Brieuc de Meeûs also hinted on the sidelines of the UITP Summit in Hamburg, a major international public transport trade fair, that charging the buses remains a challenge.
MIVB/STIB still needs to build or redevelop depots, which will entail significant costs, also because the buses cannot all be charged at the same time, as that would overload MIVB/STIB’s electrical network.
Fast charging of the buses is now done at terminus stops, such as Naamsepoort/Porte de Namur and Pannenhuis, with more to follow. Slower charging then takes place in the bus depots. MIVB/STIB counts on nearly 1 billion euros for the switch to electric, including the purchase of vehicles.
New devaluation system
In addition, according to Bruzz, it also plans to launch a public tender for the replacement of the devaluation system in the vehicles and at the gates. Today, three systems coexist: the red MOBIB boxes, contactless bank card payment, and QR scanners. However, these will be integrated into one unified device. An estimated 5,000 devices will have to be replaced.
