TDRM is implementing these new electric buses on line 56 between Rödelheim, Sossenheim and Eschborn, as well as on line 71 in Praunheim and the Nordweststadt district.
In Frankfurt’s bus network, 109 out of a total of 418 buses are currently running with emission-free drive systems, representing more than a quarter of the fleet. According to the municipal administration, this makes Frankfurt’s electric bus fleet one of the largest in Germany. “With more than 100 electric buses, Frankfurt’s transport transition is visible to passengers and has become part of everyday life. The 100th electric bus symbolizes the specific transformation in Frankfurt’s bus services and the successful path the city has followed since 2018,” said Transport Councilor Yannick Schwander.
A unique feature of Frankfurt’s electric buses is that they are charged with electricity generated at the Heddernheim waste-to-energy (MHKW) plant. The MHKW is managed by Frankfurter Entsorgungs- und Service GmbH (FES) and the energy supplier Mainova. Among other things, it generates electricity by incinerating household waste. “This unique collaboration in Germany links waste incineration, energy generation and local emissions-free mobility,” explains Wolf, CEO of TDRM. “Frankfurt demonstrates here how a city’s resources can be used efficiently by combining climate protection and public well-being,” added FES CEO Dirk Remmert.
However, in such a scenario, the emphasis is on “emission-free local mobility”, since emissions are produced during the generation of electricity in a waste incineration plant, but not in the vehicle itself. Recently, the proportion of renewable energy in the waste incineration plant was around 47 percent. In other words: unlike many other operators, Frankfurt does not use 100 percent green electricity.
The city and the two operators, TDRM and In-der-City-Bus (ICB), plan to convert Frankfurt’s entire bus fleet to locally emission-free propulsion systems by 2033. Next steps: In the west of Frankfurt, bus group B will be reinforced with ten additional electric single buses from 2027. For the east of Frankfurt, the acquisition of 39 electric buses is planned for 2028. To accommodate this, a new depot electric bus company, Elektro-Busdepot Ost, In-der-City-Bus is building it on Flinschstraße in Seckbach. From December 2028, the smaller bus lines 25, 57, 81, 82, 83 and 85 will also be consolidated into group H and will operate fully electric.
As a replacement for the Römerhof station, ICB is also planning the Elektro-Busbetriebshof West on Lorscher Straße in Rödelheim, which will provide space and charging capacity for 200 battery and hydrogen buses. As an interim solution until this electric bus station becomes operational, ICB recently commissioned 52 conventional diesel buses.
frankfurt.de (DE)
