Daimler Buses has delivered the first battery-electric buses to Racktours, adding three Mercedes-Benz eCitaro vehicles to its fleet for scheduled passenger services.
Based in Erlensee near Hanau in the German state of Hesse, Racktours will deploy the new vehicles on routes in the Main-Kinzig district under contract with KVG Main-Kinzig.
The buses were handed over in Mannheim to members of the Racktours management team.
Racktours has acquired more than 21 buses from Daimler Buses during the past five years, with the majority carrying the Mercedes-Benz brand. This latest delivery marks the company’s first use of battery-electric buses and forms part of an ongoing fleet renewal programme.
The three eCitaro buses are 12 metres in length and equipped with the latest generation NMC4 lithium-ion battery technology. Two of the vehicles are fitted with five battery packs, providing a total capacity of 555 kWh. The third vehicle carries six battery packs with a total capacity of 666 kWh.
The buses include a range of driver assistance and safety systems. These include the MirrorCam digital camera system, a reversing camera, interior video monitoring, Sideguard Assist 2, Frontguard Assist, Traffic Sign Recognition and Attention Assist 2, which uses an infrared camera to monitor driver alertness.
Each vehicle is fitted with two charging connections, located above the front section of the bus and near the front axle. The buses have a green exterior finish and blue passenger seating.
