Ultras green travel provides an energy smarter Umeå

On Monday 13th June, Ultra Bus will begin for the summer. Passengers will be greeted by a new operator, a new timetable and new buses with an Umeå inspired design. The new buses are an important step to Ultras green journey for a good urban environment and sustainable travel.

- We are starting with the best summer timetable ever, on the same day as a large amount of vehicles are being replaced, can it get better? Says a satisfied Harriet Söder, CEO Länstrafiken in Västerbotten.

Umeå has a big challenge to improve the air quality in the central parts of the city. Ultras new buses are an important part of the effort. They are equipped with the latest Euro VI engines, which means that the level of emissions is considerably reduced. Another advantage is that the buses use less fuel thanks to modern engines and their much lower weight.

The new buses are just the beginning of Ultras ‘Green Journey’. During the summer, eight all electric buses from Hybricon Pdf, 1001 kB, opens in new window. will be in use in Umeå. By year 2019, it is planned that an additional 24 electric buses will be deployed on route 1 and 8. The aim is that all of the Ultra traffic will be completely fossil free by 2020.

-Very strict environmental standards are essential to ensure continued growth in the central parts of Umeå, says Fredrik Forsell, Transport manager, Umeå Municipality.

In recent years, Ultra has seen impressive development in travel and high customer satisfaction. Investments like wifi on board, automatic scanning of single travel tickets, as well as tests with all electric buses, are some of the reasons for the fine development of travel. Ultra expects to have double travel in Umeå already in 2018 compared with 2005, something that few other Swedish cities could cope with.

-As the operator, we meet passengers every day and we will do our best to give everyone a good journey in the city traffic.

Our ambition is to be an active player in cooperation with Länstrafiken and Umeå Municipality in order to continue our performance in the best way. The unique electric bus operations in Umeå is at the forefront in Europe, and it is obviously very inspiring for us to be on the green journey, says Gunnar Schön, CEO of Transdev.

Buses with a new design

Even the design of the local buses have changed as of the 13th June.

-Umeå is the city of birches. We have therefore chosen to highlight the birch in the new design. The focus on electric buses has been visualised and been given green paint while other buses are blue, says Harriet Söder.

Do you want to know more? Contact us:

Umeå Kommunföretag AB:
Fredrik Forsell
Tel 090-162236, 070 632 77 51
fredrik.forsell@umea.se

Länstrafiken i Västerbotten AB:
Harriet Söder
Tel 0950-23924, 070 652 39 24
harriet.soder@lanstrafikeniac.se

Transdev Sverige AB:
Klara Haage, presskontakt
Tel. 08-629 50 34
Klara.haage@transdev.se