Twin city on the Danube orders electric buses

22.07.2025

Source: E & M powernews

Stadtwerke Ulm/Neu-Ulm has ordered 37 electric buses. The company is investing almost 35 million euros in vehicles and charging infrastructure with support from the public sector.

Electric buses for the municipal utility company that connects Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria: Stadtwerke Ulm/Neu-Ulm (SWU) is planning to purchase a total of up to 46 electric buses by 2027, according to its own information. A total of 34.6 million euros has been budgeted for vehicles and charging infrastructure - an investment in the future, as the municipal utility company emphasizes, which "would not be possible without subsidies".

SWU's transport subsidiary ordered 37 of the electric buses on July 18. These are vehicles of the E-Citaro type. By the end of 2026, 15 three-door solo buses with a transport capacity of up to 65 passengers and 22 four-door articulated buses with space for up to 143 passengers are due to arrive in the twin city on the Danube. The municipal utilities are planning the other nine models for 2027.

The e-models are not intended to replace diesel buses. Rather, the transport company also wants to introduce new bus routes. A new local transport plan is due to come into force in 2027. "Ulm is growing - and mobility must grow with the city. Emission-free local transport is both a clear goal and a necessity for us," commented Ulm's Lord Mayor Martin Ansbacher on the order for the electric buses.

Her counterpart in Neu-Ulm, Mayor Katrin Albsteige, sees the implementation of the local transport plan with Daimler "as a manufacturer with a close connection to Neu-Ulm" and the municipal utilities "in the best hands". With the 46 e-buses in two years, more than half of the city bus fleet will be emission-free, according to SWU.

In January, Baden-Württemberg's Transport Minister Winfried Hermann (Greens) presented Stadtwerke Ulm / Neu-Ulm (SWU) with the grant notification for 24.6 million euros. The grant from the state was made up of a funding quota of 75 percent and a planning cost subsidy of 10 percent. "Due to its many hills, Ulm requires a particularly sophisticated system of charging stations. We are therefore funding the project with an increased subsidy rate of 85 percent," said Hermann when handing over the decision and spoke of a good investment for climate protection.

Author: Manfred Fischer