VDL delivers 54 Citeas to Veolia Transport Nederland

Valkenswaard, 4-1-2013 — /europawire.eu/ — VDL Bus & Coach recently delivered 54 Citea LLEs, Light Low Entry, to Veolia Transport Nederland. Since the 9th of December the buses are used for regional transport in the Limburg concession, serving as replacements for older buses in the fleet. In 2007, VDL Bus & Coach delivered 185 Ambassadors to Veolia for Limburg (Dutch province). The Citea LLE was introduced in September 2011 as the successor to the Ambassador. The lightweight buses are equipped with the latest Euro 5 engines with EEV (Enhanced Environmentally-friendly Vehicle) technology. Based on its very positive experience with the Ambassadors currently in service for the Limburg and North Brabant (Dutch provinces) concessions, Veolia has once again chosen VDL buses. The good results in terms of fuel economy played an important role in this.

Willem van der Leegte, managing director VDL Bus & Coach Nederland: “That Veolia, thanks in part to their good experience with our previous deliveries, once again chose VDL as partner is very important to us. These VDL buses, which are made in the Netherlands, will be in service in the same region where Nedcar is located. As has been announced in the media, Nedcar will officially become part of VDL on 14 December 2012. We are very pleased to be able to further strengthen our position in the automotive sector in Limburg with these two developments.”

Citea LLE-120
The Citea LLE-120s for Veolia have a length of 12 metres and can accommodate up to 80 seated and standing passengers. The low unladen weight of the bus results in very favourable fuel economy, giving the Citea LLE a low emission footprint. An additional advantage is its low-floor construction at the entry and exit doors, making it optimally accessible for wheelchair users and passengers with baby buggies.

Good example
Working together closely, Veolia, the unions and VDL have managed to produce a driver’s cockpit that practically meets all of the stringent requirements of the Dutch Public Transport collective labour agreement. This driver’s cockpit is very spacious and features an ergonomically designed seat. Concession Manager René de Beer of Veolia: “We pride ourselves on the extremely low absenteeism among our bus drivers, and a healthy workplace is an essential factor in this. The driver’s cockpit that VDL produces is optimally equipped and contributes to a good working environment for the driver. The favourable economic character and resulting low operating costs of the VDL buses also played a major role in our decision.”

Veolia Transport Nederland
Veolia Transport Nederland provides passenger transport by road, water and rail. The activities of Veolia Transport Netherlands include city and regional bus transport, the ferry service between the Dutch cities Vlissingen-Breskens, train services in Limburg between the Dutch cities Maastricht-Kerkrade and Roermond-Nijmegen, taxi service and non-subsidized public transport. In 2011, Veolia Transport Netherlands had a turnover of €304m, 3,365 employees, 1,225 vehicles, 2 ferry boats and 24 trains. Veolia Transport Netherlands is a subsidiary of Veolia Transdev, the foremost passenger transport operator in the world.

###

Photography: Katja Waltmans

VDL Bus & Coach bv

Marleen van Zeeland

Communications

+31 (0)40 208 44 14

m.van.zeeland@vdlbuscoach.com