Category: News

At Busworld Europe 2017, Tribus from the Netherlands presents two entirely electric minibuses. With these minibuses, the company provides in the great market demand for emission-free passenger transport. The first electric minibuses will be on the road soon.

The first fully electric minibus is the e-Civitas. The vehicle is based on the Fiat Ducato L3H2 and has a front-wheel drive. The e-Civitas has a 70 kWh battery that can reach distances of up to 200 km!

The floor of the e-Civitas is lowered, it has a fully automated sliding side door and a manually foldable platform and is wheelchair accessible. The new Civitas fits in everywhere with a maximum capacity of 8 passengers (8 seats or 7 seats and 1 wheelchair). Ideal for public transport and taxi, shuttle and airport shuttle services. A maximum of 19 kW per hour charge is possible via a Type2 plug for a loading time of about 3.5 hours.

Op Taxi Expo 2017, 12 oktober in Houten, presenteert Tribus uit Utrecht een volledig elektrische minibus. Met deze minibus speelt het bedrijf in op een grote behoefte in de markt voor emissievrij personenvervoer. De eerste elektrische minibussen gaan de komende tijd al de weg op.

De volledig elektrische minibus is de zogenaamde e-Ducato: een multifunctionele minibus waar Tribus nu al heel veel belangstelling voor ervaart. Deze minibus is gebaseerd op de Fiat Ducato L3H2. De elektrische aandrijflijn bestaat uit een 60 kW elektromotor plus een 76 kWh batterij. Daarmee heeft de e-Ducato een actieradius van ruim 220 km!

De e-Ducato is rolstoeltoegankelijk en biedt ruimte aan 8 passagiers, inclusief rolstoelgebruiker. Ideaal voor openbaar vervoer, taxi-, shuttle en luchthaventransferdiensten. Er kan met maximaal 19 kW per uur geladen worden via een Type2 stekker, de laadtijd is dan zo’n 3,5 uur.

Uniek aan deze minibus is dat het totaal gewicht onder 3500 kg GVW blijft. Dit

Last month, Tribus greatly reduced its environmental impact by replacing all the lights in its factory with LED. At the same time, Tribus mounted 550 solar panels on its factory roof.

The switch from high-energy lights to energy-efficient LED’s has led to an instant drop of Tribus’ total energy consumption of almost 40%. The energy needed for lighting alone has dropped with a stunning 70%. The solar panels, which cover an area of 880 m2, have a capacity of 154.000 Wp, which is well enough to meet the lighting and office needs.

“Many of us engage in outdoor activities like hiking, mountain biking and mountaineering,” tells Herman Rigterink, Technical Director, about the people working at Tribus. “We feel a strong, personal commitment to minimise our ecological footprint. Everyone is very excited about our switch to solar energy.”

Tribus will continue to lower its energy consumption. Any energy surplus from our solar panels will be fed

Syntus operates according to a so-called fishbone model, where the spine represents train services and the bones represent the bus services connecting scarcely populated areas to the railroad network. With the deployment of electric minibuses from Tribus, the service area of Syntus in the Green Heart can be fully electrified.

In cooperation with Ford, Tribus will develop the first Transit where the sliding door entrance will be replaced by a lowered passenger entry step at the co-driver’s door.

This adaptation makes the Ford Transit much more attractive for public transport services. The absence of the sliding door – in combination with a wheelchair lift at the rear – creates a more versatile vehicle for wheelchair accessible passenger transport, as it is now possible to position a wheelchair adjacent to the former sliding door. Converters like Tribus will now be able to create a maximum of four wheelchair areas.

An additional advantage of this adaptation is the fact that passengers can now enter the vehicle face-to-face with the driver, which is – in the Netherlands at least – very much appreciated by passengers and drivers alike.

TriflexAIR
The conversion of the new Ford Transit to a wheelchair accessible minibus with our TriflexAIR wheelchair restraint system

The TriflexAIR seat, which already complies to the EU and UN regulations in safety belt anchorage (Regulation 14), now also meets the U.S. safety standards for motor vehicles (FMVSS).

In March, the safety belt anchorage of the TriflexAIR seat was subjected to a pull test in accordance with the standards of the FMVSS. Although FMVSS and the EU/UN safety standards are at the same level, the tests are somewhat different. The required test load applied to the safety belt is slightly higher in R 14 testing, but the FMSVV requires a longer test duration.

The TriflexAIR seat passed the test well beyond the minimum requirements. This means that it is now possible to use the seat in vehicles registered in the U.S. or in other countries which conform to the FMVSS, although bodybuilders should test the seats additionally to get their vehicles approved.

The lightweight construction and slim design has attracted much attention since the

Marleen Roose, Customer Service Manager at Brussels Airport deployed two wheelchair accessible minibuses. Since Tribus has been granted European Type Approval on these conversions, Tribus was able to deliver the minibuses as complete, turnkey wheelchair accessible vehicles

The Civitas, our low-floor minibus, is also available with electromagnetic retarders. The retarder dissipates a large part of the braking energy, thus relieving the default breaking system. Retarders are therefore often a criterion for public transport tenders in hilly environments. Besides safety concerns, retarders also extend the lifespan of the default braking system.

In our Civitas, the retarders are fully integrated with the default braking system. The retarder enters into force when the footbrake is used, but  it can also be operated independently by a lever near the steering wheel. The retarder is also compatible with the anti-skid braking system (ABS) of the Civitas.

The retarder consists of a casing with several electromagnetic coils. On both sides the retarder is joined with the drive shaft.

Recently,  the Dutch province North Holland took into use 14 Civitas Economy’s. The low floor minibuses will operate as so-called “neighbourhood busses”. Neighbourhood busses are bus services run by local volunteer associations in areas with low population density where (semi-)commercial exploitation of public transport services is not viable.

The Civitas Economy is specifically designed for services like this. The bus combines a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter with an easily accessible interior.  With its semi low floor, its wide sliding doors, spacious seat layout and a fully equipped drivers’ cabin, the Civitas Economy is a surprisingly comfortable vehicle for both passengers and driver.

Although the busses will be operated by the neighbourhood associations, the bus services are integrated in the timetables of Connexxion, one of the major public transport companies in the Netherlands and the current concessionaire in North Holland . Currently, North Holland has 18 neighbourhood buses, run by a total of ten volunteer associations. Last year,

Hendriks converts its own minibuses, using the TriflexAIR seating and flooring system. “It is this combination of high service and safe and comfortable wheelchair accessible minibuses, which counts for Tax Hendriks’ position as market leader.”