30 years ago, a Bus Rapid Transit system was set up in the Ecuadorian capital city Quito. The main through the city centre as a trolleybus under overhead lines. Here – at 2,850 metres above sea level – the electric drive proved to be a sensible alternative to the predominant diesel engines, as their efficiency is significantly lower than elsewhere due to the reduced oxygen content of the air. 113 articulated Mercedes-Benz O 405 GT trolleybuses with bodies from the Spanish manufacturer Hispano Carrocera and electric equipment from Kiepe and Adtranz were delivered in 1995 and 1999 and have been handling the intensive traffic on the BRT line since its in stages opening between 1995 and 2008. They make barrier-free stops at elevated platforms.
Almost all of the vehicles have covered well over 1 million kilometres and are in urgent need of renewal, even though a modernisation campaign for the oldest articulated vehicles was launched last year. After lengthy deliberations on the possibility of replacing them with battery buses, the municipality of Quito decided to purchase new vehicles. The Empresa de Pasajeros Quito initially ordered 50 and soon after increased this to 60 high-floor articulated trolleybuses from the Chinese manufacturer Yutong – and the first of these has now arrived in Ecuador.
The new trolleybuses are 18.24 metres long, 2.55 metres wide and 3.85 metres high. They offer 32 seats and 128 standing places. Traction batteries on board allow up to 75 kilometres of off-catenary travel and thus the extension of individual journeys beyond the sections of the BRT line equipped with overhead lines.
The vehicles are expected to start revenue service shortly and thus initiate fleet renewal. However, the order still needs to be increased in order to completely replace the old Mercedes-Benz articulated trams. Approximately 100 of them are currently still operational – however, the transport company has already started to replace a further 31 carriages.
The same new Yutong model as a pure battery bus is already in operation in Mexico City, among other places – now the first vehicle of a 26 metre long version as a double-articulated vehicle has also been presented!
