Over the last five years more than 70 million After investing 100,000 euros in improving public transport services and renovating the park, Kaunas continues to look for ecological and, above all, long-term solutions. Over the next two weeks the brand new MAN Lion’s City E electric bus will be tested on city streets on the busiest routes.
Passengers will experience it for themselves
“In recent years, the city has successfully pursued a green path strategy by investing in sustainable solutions. Recently, the fleet was supplemented with 100 new MAN Lion’s City 12 hybrid buses, which are up to seven times more environmentally friendly than the crew of an average passenger car.”
Kaunas has been monitoring the electric bus market and the development of these vehicles for a long time. So far such buses have not been able to guarantee the minimum daily mileage or other technical requirements. However, electric buses, like all other technologies, are improving and, perhaps, such vehicles will be added to our public transport fleet in the near future,” said Vilius Šiliauskas, Director of Kaunas City Administration.
The electric bus from the German manufacturer “Man Lion’s City Electric” is not the first to be tested in Kaunas. Solaris, Karsan, Scania and Yutong electric buses have been tested in the last three years.
For the next two weeks, the MAN Lion’s City E, decorated with an exclusive design and motifs of the city of Kaunas, will take passengers on the city’s most difficult routes 3, 37 and 40. They are mainly used by city passengers.
Innovations are chosen responsibly
According to Mindaugas Grigelis, General Director of Kaunas Buses, electric buses require extremely powerful battery charging infrastructure and more efficient daily service logistics. Furthermore, according to preliminary calculations, more electric buses offered on the market so far would be needed on more intensive routes due to their slightly lower passenger capacity and limited mileage.
“Other cities and towns have already purchased one or more electric buses. However Kaunas Buses, acting responsibly with the earned income, have chosen a slightly different path. This is not a cheap investment, and each new brand of vehicle creates a correspondingly large spare parts warehouse and requires specific knowledge of driving, repair and additional administrative work.
In the management of the transport fleet, the aim is for a minimum economy of thought, so that it is updated as much as possible in the calculated parts, and the bus technology is chosen only after being convinced of its reliability and having analyzed the costs of the entire life cycle. Fuel diversification is also very important, so investing in new technologies is only possible after reaching the appropriate level of reliability,” assured M. Grigelis.
Beginner tested abroad
The MAN electric bus that appeared in Kaunas on Wednesday was tested in Munich, Germany, in May. It traveled 550.8 km in 24 hours on a single charge. Additional weights have been added to simulate the average number of passengers and make the vehicle travel more realistic.
Last year the Lion’s City E was also successfully tested in Spain at temperatures above 35 degrees. The electric bus traveled 284 kilometers on the public transport operator’s route during a 16-hour shift.
This public transport can be equipped with 480 and 640 kWh batteries.
“During the test carried out in real conditions in Munich, the MAN electric bus managed to travel up to 550 km on a single charge, so it will be very interesting to see the results also in the city of Kaunas. MAN Truck & Bus pays special attention to Lithuania, so similar tests are not carried out for the first time. We can safely say that this new bus already technologically meets all the needs of the city and can serve all existing city bus lines.
“Adampolis” UAB also offers advanced infrastructure and service solutions, so we are ready to help and advise bus fleets in finding the best solution suitable for a specific city fleet,” said Ričardas Tverijonas, commercial director of Adampolis, representative of the German manufacturer “MAN Truck & Bus” in Lithuania.
Investments in modern solutions
Kaunas Bus Company has acquired over 250 new vehicles in the past five years, including up to 100 MAN hybrid buses. In addition, the city’s public transport network operates 85 Solaris trolleybuses, more than six Mercedes-Benz low-capacity buses, and 25 Temsa buses.
To improve passenger comfort, Kaunas’ largest public transport company recently modernized its electronic ticketing system and automatic ticket machines, making ticket verification on public transport more convenient than ever before. More and more residents are also starting to use the Žiogas mobile application, which will soon be updated.
Representatives from Kaunas Bus Company showcased their innovative solutions, their experience to date, and the entire public transport ticketing system to counterparts in other cities. Kaunas residents say the Žiogas platform is highly attractive in terms of price and efficiency, and therefore has the potential for wider adoption outside of Kaunas.
Several years ago, Kaunas Bus Company launched “Traffic Voice,” a smart application for the blind, which has also been successfully used in other major cities in the country.
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