News, Sustainability, Vehicles
The era of electric Postbuses is now also beginning in the Canton of Graubünden
The Canton of Graubünden is now also served by its first four electric Postbuses. Passengers and residents who live along PostBus routes all benefit from the climate-friendly vehicles.
Rich Content Section
Rich Content Section
From the end of January 2023, electric Postbuses will also be in use for scheduled services in the Canton of Graubünden. These four buses are the first of eleven battery-powered vehicles that will be brought into operation by PostBus by summer 2023. This procurement enables PostBus to convert four routes between Chur and Bad Ragaz entirely to alternative drive systems.
Charging at depots and train stations
The first vehicles are 12-metre-long battery-powered buses. The batteries used in Graubünden’s first electric Postbuses can be charged at two PostBus depots and at the Untervaz-Trimmis and Landquart railway stations. When the battery charge is topped up at Untervaz-Trimmis railway station, the energy is supplied via a pantograph, which is lowered onto the vehicle from above.
The electric Postbuses are an asset in many respects, as initial experiences show. The vehicles are climate-friendly, reducing CO2 emissions and preventing particulate emissions. PostBus forecasts that the use of the eleven electric Postbuses will help to avoid a total of 610 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year. In addition, battery buses are quieter and smoother than diesel buses, as there is no jolting or loud engine noise. This benefits passengers, drivers and residents who live along PostBus routes.
Added value remains in the canton
In conjunction with its e-mobility provider PLUG’N ROLL, energy service provider Repower is responsible for installing the charging infrastructure at the PostBus depots in Trimmis and Bad Ragaz, as well as at Untervaz-Trimmis and Landquart railway stations. Repower also supplies the necessary energy, which in this case is “VERDEPOWER Grischun” – electrical energy generated exclusively from certified, renewable sources in the Canton of Graubünden. This means that all added value remains in the canton.
An important step for PostBus
PostBus is delighted to be able to take the first step towards climate-friendly road-based public transport in the Canton of Graubünden. The company is in the process of retrofitting its fleet throughout Switzerland to help combat climate change. By the end of 2024, the first 100 fossil-free Postbuses are expected to be on the roads, and by the end of 2040 at the latest, the entire current fleet of 2,400 vehicles will be powered in a climate-friendly manner.
