The public transport operator in the Swiss canton of Fribourg is going electric off the overhead wires. TPF has begun taking delivery of the 24 Mercedes-Benz eCitaro electric buses it ordered from Daimler Buses Switzerland, an investment of about CHF 20 million.
The order
- Six 12-metre buses and 18 18-metre articulated buses, for both urban and regional routes.
- They will enter service from the December 2026 timetable change.
- The buses were chosen through a tender launched in May 2024. electrive.net reports that the framework commits TPF to taking at least 35 and at most 183 eCitaros from Daimler Buses over five years, and that another batch of 35 is due in December 2027.
Charging
electrive.net says every bus can fast-charge at up to 300 kW through a roof-mounted pantograph at selected terminuses and depots, with plug-in depot charging at up to 150 kW, typically overnight. TPF says the technology lets it decarbonize secondary routes that don't have overhead wires.
Also coming
Eight battery trolleybuses will join the network early next year, followed by six more at the end of the year. They replace 12 old trolleybuses that have reached the end of their service life. "These buses are absolutely fantastic. They are quiet, comfortable," TPF director general Serge Collaud told Frapp (translated from French).