Switzerland’s PostAuto is planning a network of all-electric bus routes in the eastern canton of Graubünden.
A Chinese-built Ebusco electric single-decker will be trialled from this summer and if the project takes off, PostAuto says between 10 and 20 pure electric buses using overnight depot charging could be operating in the region by mid-2021.
The first electric bus to be used on scheduled PostAuto routes was a rented 12m Ebusco, which began operating around Interlaken in August 2017 as part of a threeyear trial. An electrified VDL Citea SLF-120 has also been operational in the small town of Sarnen south of Lucerne since 2018
PostAuto began decarbonising Graubünden in February using an all-electric Iveco eDaily minibus to transport schoolchildren in the Val Poschiavo valley in the southern, Italian- speaking part of the canton.
It has teamed up with Swiss-based energy utility Repower to optimise charging infrastructure and to work out the best routes for electric buses in the region.
Repower says electric buses are best suited to less hilly terrain and the PostAuto vehicles will probably go into service in the area between Chur and Bad Ragaz in the neighbouring St Gallen canton.
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