Arriva Italia introduces 6 new e-buses for urban service in Cremona

Arriva Italia’s new electric buses were presented today, lined up in Piazza del Comune. The presentation was attended by Angelo Costa, Arriva Italia CEO, Gianluca Galimberti, Mayor of Cremona, Simona Pasquali, Councillor for Sustainable Mobility, Environment and Civil Protection.

These are 6 new buses – only the first part of the 11 planned vehicles – full electric last generation BYD with a length of 12 meters and a capacity of 82 units, of which 23 are seats. They will be used on lines E (Barriera Po/Piazza Roma/Stazione/Ospedale), G (San Marino Autostazione/Castelverde Autostazione), H (Bonemerse/Ospedale/Stazione Cavatigozzi/Spinadesco) and will enter service from Saturday, May 13. Being “full electric,” emissions will be 0.

Through the inclusion of these zero-emission vehicles, the fleet employed on the urban service of the city of Cremona will be completely replaced, eliminating all diesel (Euro2 to Euro6) and methane vehicles. The goal is to have a fully electrified urban fleet by 2026 with a total of 32 vehicles: 19 electric vehicles introduced thanks in part to funding from the National Strategic Plan for Sustainable Mobility (6.2 million euros), and 13 thanks to PNRR funds (6 million euros).

“The one on Cremona is a project we have been carrying on for a couple of years, and we can finally say that we have almost reached the final goal: to make the city’s mobility completely green. -comments Angelo Costa, CEO of Arriva Italia- By 2026 we will have an entire zero-emission fleet, a boast for few Italian cities, which makes Cremona an example of how the sustainability goals dictated by the European Union, but also and above all by environmental needs and common sense, are not unattainable. To meet the challenge of sustainability, it is necessary to invest in collective public transport, especially by road: buses on the one hand are the most widespread means of transport in the territory, but on the other hand they still require a predominantly fossil fuel supply. It is not for nothing that the NRP envisages the investment of about 2 billion euros for the renewal of the Italian fleet, also incentivizing the creation of an industrial supply chain dedicated to electric buses, which is necessary to support the massive replacement of dated and polluting public vehicles.”

“The strengthening of local public transport, carried out through investments in the electric fleet in agreement and in collaboration with the operator, is an integral part of the various interventions on mobility that represent a strong commitment to the development of the city; it is a choice within the framework of constant attention to the livability of Cremona. Making the city increasingly livable and usable means working for the benefit of citizens and all the people who frequent Cremona. It also means maintaining the highest level of care for the environment and implementing concrete initiatives in favor of air quality. Sustainable mobility policies, which the Administration has been pursuing for some time, are one of the essential responses on this front,” is the statement of Mayor Gianluca Galimberti and Councillor for Sustainable Mobility Simona Pasquali.

All vehicles have a 348 Kwh battery and a range of about 300km. They will be recharged at night in the facility built inside the Cremona central depot (full recharge time about 7 hours).

Enel X was responsible for the construction of a depot-based electrical distribution and infrastructure facility to serve electric bus recharging. The agreement included design, supply of charging solutions, support during construction management and permit application, up to the connection to the medium-voltage grid with a dedicated cabin.

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