Île-de-France steps it up with 641 new clean buses for the Grande Couronne

Air pollution is a main public health issue for all Île-de-France residents.

To minimize the impact of public transport on air quality, Île-de-France Mobilités decided to accelerate the transition to electric buses without forgetting the Grande Couronne, its Outer Ring.

Following the announcement that the Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens (RATP) has awarded the contract for the construction of 800 electric buses to three French companies, Île-de-France Mobilités voted on April 17 a massive first order of clean (CNG and electric) buses for the Moyenne and Grande Couronnes.

At the same time, Île-de-France Mobilités is still measuring bus emissions in real operating conditions with Airparif and, as of today, is now extending its calculations to alternative fuels (GTL, Gas To Liquid, and HVO, Hydroprocessed Vegetable Oil) as well.

A Region that cares about its citizens

As the President of the Regional Council of Île-de-France Valérie Pécresse said, this new massive order is a statement for the government’s attention towards its citizens:

"We chose to no longer buy diesel buses and hybrids, which pollute way too much. With this new order, we affirm that there are no second-class Parisians. Indeed, this decision should also benefit the inhabitants of the Medium and Outer Rings, who are very exposed to pollutants - especially those who live along the major highways. A tender of this magnitude makes it possible to standardize our transport infrastructure, so that there is no more or less comfortable vehicle depending on whether your line is uptown and central or downtown and remote."

Since 2016, in order to engage in a concrete process of energy transition, Île-de-France Mobilités has decided to put a definitive end to the diesel bus acquisitions. By 2025, it aims to equip its entire fleet in dense urban areas with clean vehicles.

641 clean buses for the Moyenne and Grande Couronnes

This new order of clean vehicles counts 563 CNG buses and coaches and 78 e-buses which will be available in the Moyenne and Grande Couronnes by, respectively, 2020 and 2021. The investment, fully covered by Île-de-France Mobilités , is around 200 million euros.

For the first time, Île-de-France Mobilités is acquiring this order on its own, without going through its transport operators. This new approach aims to standardize equipment in Île-de-France, so that travelers can benefit from quality buses all over the territory, and not just in the city of Paris.

As a member of the Centrale d’Achat du Transport Public (CATP - Public Transport Purchasing Center), Île-de-France Mobilités benefits from the expertise of this specialized association and can control the real purchasing costs thanks to the massification of volumes.

Deliveries of these buses will be concentrated in 10 operational Île-de-France Bus Centres whose energy conversion is in progress. Buses will also be delivered in bus centres that are already equipped with CNG feed stations (Meaux and Marcoussis).

For more information:

Original news: Éric Béziat, "Avec 641 nouveaux bus propres, l’Ile-de-France se veut championne du transport vert", Le Monde, April 9 2019

Press release: Sébastien Mabille and Hélène Duguet for Île-de-France Mobilités, April 17 2019