For thirteen years, only emission-free buses will run.
Qbuzz will be the new carrier in South Holland North from December 15, 2024 for a period of thirteen years. The province of South Holland announced on Tuesday that bus transport will be completely emission-free. This news comes after a successful public European tender in which Qbuzz came out on top.
The contract includes bus transport in the regions of Holland Rijnland and Central Holland, with the larger cities of Leiden, Alphen aan den Rijn and Gouda. Other bidders included current carrier Arriva, EBS Public Transportation, and Transdev Netherlands Mobility Services. The total contract value exceeds €1 billion. The losers of the tender have six weeks to appeal the decision.
"𝘞𝘪𝘫 𝘻𝘪𝘫𝘯 𝘦𝘳𝘨 𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘫 𝘮𝘦𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘻𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘏𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘷𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘵 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘳 𝘰𝘶𝘸𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘦𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘦 𝘡𝘶 𝘪𝘥-𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘸𝘪𝘬𝘬𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘷𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘵 𝘰 𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘣𝘢𝘢𝘳 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘰𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘨𝘢𝘢𝘯 𝘨𝘦𝘷 𝘦𝘯 and 𝘥𝘦 𝘬𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘱 𝘩𝘦𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘬 𝘷𝘢𝘯 𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘦 𝘘𝘣𝘶𝘻 𝘻-𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘢'𝘴.𝘝𝘢𝘯𝘶𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘻𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘨𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘬𝘦𝘯𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘥 𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘣𝘪𝘫 𝘥𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘦 𝘷𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘯𝘻𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘯 𝘷𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘡𝘶𝘪𝘥-𝘏𝘰𝘭 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘕𝘰𝘰𝘳𝘥. 𝘯 𝘸𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘻𝘦 𝘷𝘰𝘰𝘳𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘬𝘻𝘢𝘢𝘮𝘩 𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘮 𝘥𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘦 𝘰𝘷 𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯."
The total number of hours that Qbuzz buses are on the road will return to pre-coronavirus levels, an increase of 20% compared to the current situation. In addition, the company offers more seats in the new buses, better accessibility and extra comfort, such as individual seat heating.
Frederik Zevenbergen, South Holland deputy for traffic and transport, is happy with the decision because the transport offer is increasing compared to now. With the focus on new techniques and innovation for zero-emission transport, this contributes to the climate goals of the province. They are also making a big step in improving accessibility for travelers with a disability.
Winning the tender by Qbuzz is an important milestone in the transition to sustainable public transport in South Holland. With the use of exclusively emission-free buses, Qbuzz contributes to the province's ambition to significantly reduce CO2 emissions in public transport.
