The first of a total of 15 superbuses have arrived at Frihamnen in Malmö. The new environmentally friendly buses will be in service on the streets of Malmö as early as the summer.
– At CMP we have all the facilities and space required to receive vehicles within what we call ”High and Heavy”, observes Johan Ullenby, COO for Port & Terminal Operations at CMP.
High and Heavy is an apt description. For example, it might be buses, as well as lorries, excavators, tracked vehicles or other large vehicles.
– Our car handling operation maintains very high quality, regardless of whether it involves passenger cars or larger vehicles, says Johan Ullenby. Our employees are extremely careful with the vehicles, resulting in a top quality service and a very low level of damage. Moreover, we have quays, surfaces and tracks which together provide a first-rate solution for our vehicle customers.
The new bus, which is called the MalmöExpress, is a good example within the category of High and Heavy. Each bus is 24 metres long, bi-articulated and powered by a hybrid gas/electric technology. The plan is for the buses to be in service on line 5 and part of line 8, i.e. from Stenkällan to Västra Hamnen via Amiralsgatan and Malmö Central Station, as early as the summer. The line is currently Skåne’s major city bus route. To cut times at the bus stops, boarding will take place at all doors and passengers will buy tickets on board themselves.
Besides Malmö Stad, Skånetrafiken and the bus contractor Nobina are behind the superbus initiative.
Some changes to the urban environment will be required for the introduction of the new buses. Amiralsgatan will have a bus lane and a number of new bus stops will be built in connection with it. In addition, the crossings will have bus priority.
Seeing the long, green buses gives a sense of the future. Johan Ullenby describes them as like trains or trams.
– Naturally, it’s great that Malmö City is using us at CMP to transport the buses, he comments.
Every year over 460,000 new cars arrive at the port in Malmö, making CMP Scandinavia’s largest port for cars.