Although the hydrogen buses were originally to be provided by Solaris of Poland, the supplier will eventually be CaetanoBus following a Europe-wide tender. By the end of 2025, ten of its hydrogen city buses with Toyota technology will be operating in Vienna.

Vienna's transport company - Wiener Linien - continues to decarbonise its bus fleet. It recently completely converted its first two lines to all-electric and has now announced the result of a tender for hydrogen buses with pan-European participation. In a multi-stage process, Portuguese manufacturer CaetanoBus was the top bidder, together with Toyota. The transport company will receive ten „H2.City Gold“ buses from them during 2025, which will be powered by Toyota fuel cell technology.

The 12-metre-long, wheelchair-accessible buses will be refuelled at a hydrogen refuelling station operated by Wien Energie and Wiener Netzen at the bus garage in Leopoldau.

„In recent years, we have tested various hydrogen buses, especially in summer in extreme heat and therefore under difficult conditions. Unlike electric buses, which have a longer range in summer than in winter, hot conditions are more challenging for hydrogen buses. Our ambitions are high: we want to reduce emissions while maintaining quality of service. The Caetano city bus has proved very successful in our tests. In the future, it will take our passengers around the city with zero emissions, quietly and cleanly,“ said Gudrun Senk, Managing Director Technical at Wiener Linien.

The hydrogen buses will run on line 39A between Heiligenstadt and Sievering. Due to the gradients, the short distances between stops and the high number of passengers, this is one of the most demanding lines in the city, which is why the hydrogen buses are particularly suitable for this route, according to transport company officials.

Initially, the company issued a tender for hydrogen buses together with electric buses. After intensive tests with a hydrogen bus from the best bidder at the time (Solaris Austria - ed.), it turned out that this vehicle was not ideal for the demanding use of urban transport in Vienna.

Wiener Linien therefore immediately launched a new tender for the purchase of ten hydrogen buses. This has now been completed and line 39A can be fully converted to use hydrogen propulsion by the end of 2025.

Source - Wiener Linien
Photo - source - Wiener Linien