Written by Nozinhle. Written by Lauren. Written by Redwan. As I mentioned in one of my blogsbeing part of the SI Network for Global Professionals comes with the opportunity to do study visits to companies. So, a couple of weeks back, we spent a day at Västtrafik.
What an enlightening experience! Västtrafik is a privately-owned company that is responsible for the entire public transport network in the western Sweden region. In alone, over This includes buses, trains, ferries, and the famous Gothenburg trams.
The company västtrafik ny design a wide portfolio but for this visit, we wanted to learn more about their sustainablity targets. In particular, we wanted to hear more about their project of converting the entire bus fleet to electric buses. Sweden is well-known globally for its committment to sustainability.
Whether through the recyling bins found literally everywhere or the many windmills and solar panels you will see as you journey across and in between cities, you cannot miss just how dedicated Swedes are to living sustainably. It is no surprise then than Västtrafik is converting their bus fleet to a more sustainable choice.
Currently, the majority of Västtrafik buses are hydrogen-powered. The rest are either hybrid or fully electric. Research and studies on how to make this possible as best as they can began as early as more than 10 years ago. By55 electric buses had been introduced in Gothenburg city.
This number grew to in when electric buses were introduced to other parts of of the region. By end of ,West Sweden will have around electric buses in a fleet of over buses. In short, Västtrafik expects to reach its target sooner than This was particularly special for me not only because I use the bus and trains quite a lot, but also because since coming here, the efficiency of public transportation is one of the things I love about living in Sweden.
However, such success does not come about easily. Below are some of the lessons that the Västtrafik team shared with us. After spending the day at Västtrafik, we got to realise how well the company has collaborated with the many stakeholders involved in the electrification of the bus fleet.
All these people had a role to play in making this green transition possible. Several studies were done before the first electric bus could be introduced to the fleet. The progress we see today comes as a result of effective collaboration between the many different entities.