Flemish public transport operator De Lijn is becoming greener without having to do anything about it. As of today, the private bus operators that provide rides on behalf of De Lijn are deploying 588 new electric buses on De Lijn’s network. According to the Federation of Belgian Bus and Coach Operators (FBAA), this is “the biggest greening wave ever for the private bus sector in Flanders.”
The private bus operators will systematically deploy the new e-buses on De Lijn’s network. In July and August, the buses will operate on a holiday schedule. However, the intention is to deploy the 36% share, or full capacity, from the start of school in September. More than one in three private-line buses will, therefore, run fully electric by then.
Today in Flanders, 79 bus companies run line trips for De Lijn, with 1,348 buses and 2,561 full-time drivers. According to FBAA, private buses drive 80 million kilometers a year, accounting for half of all public bus transport kilometers driven in Flanders.
Growing competition from BYD
In January, 16% of private bus operators’ fleets consisted of e-buses, a figure that will now more than double to 36%. De Lijn currently operates around 70 e-buses, with an expected total of approximately 270 by the end of the year. The aim is to have all scheduled buses running emission-free by 2035.
De Lijn’s two largest subcontractors are Hansea in Genk, owned by the German investment company DWS, and Keolis in Neder-Over-Heembeek, a subsidiary of the French state railway company SNCF.
Hansea operates e-buses from Germany’s MAN and Daimler, Spain’s Irizar, and China’s Yutong. Keolis’ fleet consists of e-buses from Germany’s MAN and Neoplan, a subsidiary of MAN Truck & Bus, Italy’s Iveco, and Turkey’s Karsa.
Although all these bus manufacturers must also increasingly consider the competition from BYD. The Chinese company and manufacturer of the world’s most popular electric vehicle, BYD, from whom De Lijn has also ordered a series of e-buses, had laid the foundation stone for the expansion of its e-bus production facility in the Hungarian city of Komárom. This will see the production capacity of the plant, which opened in 2017, tripled to 1,250 vehicles per year.
