Scania has delivered its first new-generation Scania Citywide low floor double-decker to Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG) for daily services in the German capital. BVG, Germany’s largest public transport operator, will over the coming months test the two-axle bus in preparation for large-scale double-decker services.
The bus, for 88 passengers, is 4.06 metre high and 10.9 meter long. The Scania Citywide is powered by Scania’s 7-litre, 280 hp engine. To provide a fuel-efficient 18-tonne two-axel bus, Scania has optimised weight. The floor between the lower and upper deck is built using light-weight material and the staircase is moulded in plastic. The lower deck has 19 fixed and five folding seats with two areas for special needs. On the upper deck, passengers are offered 45 seats. It is further equipped with a lightweight manual wheel chair ramp.
High standards
Scania was given a free rein to design a bus that would meet the highest passenger standards. The bus features a light and spacious interior concept with a glass ceiling in the front area of the upper deck as well as over the staircase. The sophisticated air conditioning system provides an even and comfortable indoor climate. All seats have USB charging ports and large 29” monitors provide optimum passenger information.
By the lower deck entrance, a passenger counting system displays the number of unoccupied seats on the upper deck doors to encourage travellers to move up. BVG particularly wishes to examine the passenger flow in the double-deck bus. “We will carry out extensive tests in the highly demanding daily Berlin traffic,” says Bus Director Martin Koller, BVG.