Outwardly, the difference is almost imperceptible.
Only trained eyes can see that this red giant does not damage the climate as badly as its conspecifics: Regionalverkehr Oberbayern (RVO) is also using its recently commissioned electric buses on a Holzkirchen route.
Holzkirchen -
The beefy Stromer was purchased primarily for city traffic in Bad Tölz and for regular service in the Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen district. “The electric buses also head for Holzkirchen twice a day,” says Peter Bartl from the RVO branch in Tegernsee / Bad Tölz. A bus also turns up in Gmund once a day.
A total of four brand-new buses with all-electric drives have been part of the RVO bus fleet since Easter.
These are models from Ebusco, a manufacturer from the Netherlands.
A bus costs a proud 500,000 euros, "three times as much as a diesel variant," says Bartl.
The financing is not borne by the RVO alone: 80 percent of the additional costs compared to combustion models are covered by a twelve-year funding program of the Federal Ministry for the Environment.
The Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen district contributes 20,000 euros annually, the city of Bad 10,000 euros.
Municipalities from the Miesbach district are not involved.
The battery also charges when braking
“We can cover up to 400 kilometers with one charge,” says Bartl.
The battery charges even while driving when braking (recuperation).
One has to wait and see whether the range is sufficient for larger loops in winter, when more heating and lighting are needed, says Bartl.
After two months of use, the overall experience was good.
However, there are still teething troubles to cure, for example when refueling if the battery cannot be charged 100 percent.
"A technician from the manufacturer is on site at the depot in Bad Tölz during the introductory phase and takes care of it," says Bartl.
Charging is carried out with hydropower and solar power supplied by the Tölz municipal utility.
The RVO Stromer comes to Holzkirchen twice a day
If you want to test the driving experience of an e-bus, you can choose line 9553, which serves the Bad Tölz-Holzkirchen connection and back from Monday to Friday. The first electric giant arrives at the Holzkirchen train station at 12.54 p.m. (return to Tölz: 1.20 p.m.), the second at 3.19 p.m. (return trip: 3.35 p.m.). There are other stops outside Holzkirchen in Großhartpenning, at the Pelletsmühl and Babenberg junction. One of the e-buses stops in Gmund every working day at 12.53 p.m. and then rattles off the route back to Tölz (line 9557). “Our guests say that driving is quieter in the e-bus,” reports Bartl.
The four electric vehicles strengthen the 27 regular diesel colleagues at the RVO branch.
“They figured it out on top,” says Bartl.
First they want to see how operations are going, so no combustion engine has been scrapped as a precaution.
An expansion of the small e-fleet has not yet been specifically planned, "but one or two buses will probably be added in the medium term," announced Bartl.
Then maybe more in the Miesbach district?
So far, the district has benefited from the fact that the "Tölzer Flotte" occasionally drives outside the box.
“There have not yet been any discussions with municipalities or the district in this regard,” says Bartl.
Possible bases could be Holzkirchen or Tegernsee.
“We definitely need powerful charging stations,” says Bartl.
