After two fires: 149 electric buses pulled out of service in Paris
Created: 03/05/2022, 17:48
By: Lisa Mayerhofer
Around 15 fire engines were deployed when an electric bus caught fire in Paris.
(Iconic image) © David Inderlied/dpa/Iconic image
The Parisian transport company reacted after two fires in electric buses - almost 150 of these vehicles should no longer be used.
There was also an incident in Germany.
PARIS - Thick, black clouds of smoke rose early on Friday in the south-east of Paris - an electric bus of the Parisian transport company RATP had caught fire and was ablaze.
Fortunately, no one was injured: "The bus driver took all passengers to safety," the RATP said about the latest incident on Friday morning.
About 15 fire engines were involved.
Already the second fire of the same electric bus model in Paris
But since this was the second fire in the same electric bus model, the Parisian public transport company temporarily immobilized 149 of these vehicles.
This is "a precautionary measure," said the RATP.
The cause of the two fires within a month was initially unclear.
people weren't hurt.
The number of vehicles phased out corresponds to about a third of the electric buses in Paris.
The RATP warned the manufacturer Bolloré to quickly clarify the cause of the fire.
The regional branch of the passenger association FNAUT described the fires as "worrying" and called for "quick remedial action on the part of the manufacturer".
Fires in bus depots: debate about electric buses and safety in Germany
In Germany, too, there have already been fires in local transport companies in connection with electric buses.
Last fall there was a fire in a Stuttgart bus depot.
25 buses were destroyed, the damage amounted to millions.
The trigger was probably the charging process of an electric bus,
ntv
quotes the Baden-Württemberg State Criminal Police Office after initial investigations.
The major fire in Stuttgart then prompted the Munich transport company MVG to decommission electric buses of the same type and to await further investigation findings.
Before the great fire in Stuttgart, there were already fires in two other bus depots in Germany with considerable damage - and the cause was unclear.
The Association of German Transport Companies (VDV) does not see the problem with the electric buses: "We have no accumulation of damage from electromobility," says the Managing Director of Technology from the VDV, Martin Schmitz, to the
Tagesschau
.
“In the past few years, we have continued to condense the bus depots.
There was a strong increase in demand, more buses but not necessarily more depots.
If vehicles are less than a meter apart, there is a high risk that other vehicles will also catch fire.”
With material from AFP
