New electric buses for a sustainable future

From summer 2025, 18 more Citaro electric articulated buses from Daimler Mercedes will be travelling through the canton of Zug - all equipped with the new e-leather seat covers. With this procurement, the ZVB is pushing ahead with its CO₂-neutral bus operation strategy until 2035. The new electric buses will replace older diesel models and benefit from an existing charging infrastructure, including rooftop workstations for maintenance. The proportion of electrically powered buses in the entire ZVB fleet will therefore continue to grow to around 35 per cent.

Until now, the seats in the ZVB buses have been covered in fabric - this is now changing with the introduction of the innovative material E-Leather. This high-quality and sustainable material is made from leather remnants and will replace the previous fabric upholstery in future. The ZVB's loyal passengers should be looking forward to this change, because after any number of years of fabric upholstery, the switch to E-Leather is now complete. The blue seats in the corporate colour will be retained in order to preserve the recognition value of the ZVB world. In addition, adjustments will be made to the interior design: Grey panelling and the floor colour will be optimised so that the passenger compartment appears brighter, friendlier and more inviting.

The innovative E-Leather material is produced by the British company Gen Phoenix. The leather scraps come from cattle in Europe, mainly Spain and Portugal, and are processed using a special upcycling process. The material is easy to care for, hard-wearing and durable and is already used in over four million seats in aeroplanes and trains worldwide. It is also becoming increasingly popular in public transport, as the high-quality product is very hard-wearing and easy to clean professionally. In this way, a waste product from the fashion industry is given a new life cycle, as the leather remnants would otherwise end up in the waste disposal system.