In the future, electric buses will run on Imatra

The city of Imatra tendered public transport services. The competition was won by Turku-based VS Bussipalvelut Oy, which will take over local traffic on June 1.6.2021, XNUMX.

At the same time, Imatra takes another step towards a carbon-neutral city. All new buses run on electricity.

─ In the competition, you got extra points for the electrical equipment. In addition to electricity, vehicles running on gas, biodiesel and diesel could participate in the competition. No one offered traditional diesel anymore, city engineer Päivi Ala-Vannesluoma says.

Eight operators participated in the competition.

─ We were positively surprised by how many people were interested in Imatra's public transport. It certainly helped a lot that we now offered a 10-year long contract period, Ala-Vannesluoma says.

Today, Helsinki-based Pohjolan Liikenne is in charge of Imatra's public transport.

In the future, the city will pay VS Bussipalvelui 1,882 million euros per year for organizing public transport. Bus box office revenue remains an income for the city. Compared to the current contract, the new electric buses cost around 70 euros more per year.

All big cars

In the future, all buses in Imatra's public transport will be large cars, i.e. 60-seater and low-floor. Buses are all big because the cost of building charging stations for electric cars is lower for 10 big cars. At the moment, nine cars are driving in Imatra traffic.

─ We have had capacity problems from time to time when we drive a small car on the 2nd line. When the Koske school center opens next fall, more customers will come from Meltola. Ala. Vannesluoma states that it is good to prepare for this now.

You may not see electric buses in Imatra right away in the summer. The delivery time for new electric cars is about eight months. The contract includes a transition period of five months, during which the entrepreneur can drive with replacement equipment. Imatra's electric bus fleet should therefore be fully operational in November.

Electric cars have been criticized because they don't make noise and can surprise pedestrians. At low speeds, Imatra buses have a horn to warn pedestrians and light traffic.

Schedules are planned

When the new contract period begins, Matkahuolto's ticket products will no longer work. They can already be exchanged for new Ridango system ticket products.

The routes will remain the same, but Imatra has started updating the schedules. If you wish to change the schedules on any of the routes, you can send presentations to public transportimatra.fi (public transport[at]imatra[dot]fi)

For more information:

City engineer Päivi Ala-Vannesluoma, tel. 020 617 4418 paivi. lower rim creaseimatra.fi (paivi[dot]ala-vannesluoma[at]imatra[dot]fi)

Addition 26.1.2021: added price of the old contract