Cartagena Awards Transcaribe Natural Gas Powered Bus Contract To Scania

SÖDERTÄLJE, Sweden – The Colombian Atlantic Coast city of Cartagena has selected Scania  (STO:SCVA) (STO:SCVB) as the exclusive provider for two trunk lines for the city’s brand new Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) system, called Transcaribe. Scania will provide 147 Euro 6 emissions compliant gas buses to the city along with service and maintenance contracts.

The buses feature the most advanced low-emission technology for urban transport and meet the strictest emissions standards in Europe. By operating these buses, Cartagena will become the first city in Colombia to use natural gas solutions for urban transport and this will significantly reduce the emissions that the city’s current fleet is producing. It will set a new benchmark for sustainable transport in Colombia.

Scania is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of trucks and buses for heavy transport applications. Employing approximately 42,000 people, the company operates in 100 countries. Research and development activities are concentrated in Sweden, while production takes place in Europe and South America, with facilities for global interchange of both components and complete vehicles. In 2014, net sales totaled SEK (Swedish Krona) 92.1 billion and net income amounted to SEK 6 billion

The Colombian city of Cartagena will use 147 Scania Euro 6 natural gas-powered buses on its new transport system as part of Scania’s largest deal to date on Euro 6 gas technology in South America.

“Scania Euro 6 gas buses are a reality in urban transport in Europe and now it’s time for Colombia to take advantage of them. We are setting a new standard of sustainable transport in the country,” says Benoit Tanguy, Managing Director at Scania in Colombia. “The technology is ideal for urban centers because of the low levels of both emissions and noise.”

Various companies have been chosen to operate the new BRT, including Sotramac and Transambiental. Sotramac will take delivery of 58 18-meter articulated gas buses, equipped with 320hp engines and a capacity for 160 passengers. Transambiental will receive 89 12-meter standard gas buses equipped with 280hp engines.

All the buses will utilize the Scania Fleet Management system which provides real time data from the vehicles on matters such as fuel-consumption, routes, service needs and driver conduct.

Scania will be responsible for providing both operators with the buses as well as ongoing maintenance of the vehicles. “Scania will install a workshop at the customers’ facilities,” says Tanguy. “They will have all the parts needed to ensure the highest availability of buses. Scania’s service technicians will offer maintenance that meets Scania’s high technical standards.”

Sotromac has signed a ten-year maintenance program with Scania and Transambiental has signed a five-year agreement.

The first gas buses will begin operating on Cartagena’s BRT in the second half of 2015.

Above photo: Scania articulated bus, similar to what will be delivered to Cartagena; courtesy Scania CV AB