Zurich Transport Services (VBZ) plans to launch a tender this month for the procurement of up to 100 battery-electric buses, a move that marks a departure from relying on options in existing supply contracts with Swiss manufacturer Hess and Germany’s MAN, Swiss media have reported.
VBZ is expected to invest up to 140 million Swiss francs ($150 million) in the electric bus purchase, according to the reports. In parallel, the public transport operator will allow manufacturers to submit voluntary bids for up to 100 trolleybuses, a programme estimated to be worth an additional 160 million Swiss francs. The tender is aimed at expanding and modernising Zurich’s zero-emission bus fleet as part of the city’s broader public transport strategy.
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Although VBZ had retained options from previous purchases that would have allowed it to order a large share of the vehicles directly from Hess and MAN without a new tender, the operator decided against exercising them due to unresolved performance issues.
A VBZ spokesperson said trolleybuses from earlier Hess orders were arriving months late and had shown technical shortcomings, while MAN vehicles had experienced repeated faults. “We continue to face significant and ongoing challenges related to the reliability of our MAN and Hess bus fleets,” the spokesperson said.
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VBZ said it had delayed the procurement process by several months to give both manufacturers time to address the problems, including issues related to heating and ventilation systems, powertrains, pantograph mechanisms, doors and chassis components. After concluding that the improvements were insufficient, the operator decided to open the procurement to the wider market, signalling a push to secure more reliable suppliers for Zurich’s future electric bus operations.
