Line 23: a world premiere !

Line 23: a world premiere !
Line 23: a world premiere !
Following a highly successful pilot route operated between Geneva airport and the Palexpo exhibition centre from May 2013 to March 2014, the Council of State decided to give a major boost to this Genevan technology by incorporating its deployment on a line of the city’s public transport network into the legislative programme for 2014-2018.

Line 23 was chosen since it is a key line that connects major current or future transport links and centres in and around Geneva: the Praille-Acacias-Vernets suburb, the Perly, Chancy, Pont-Butin link, the Vernier link, the future Etang district, the airport, the Palexpo site and the Ferney link.

TOSA therefore adds value and dynamism to this historical line in zone 2 of Geneva’s transport network, which covers a corridor pinpointed in the Mobility 2030 cantonal planning process as a major prospective public transport link.

At the time of entry into service of TOSA technology on line 23, no equivalent cable-free electric bus lines exist in terms of distance, transport capacity and above all charging time at the bus terminal. The main electric bus experiments currently being carried out involve shorter lines, with either smaller-capacity vehicles or a longer charging time at the bus terminal.

Vehicles and infrastructure

To ensure a frequency of one bus every 10 minutes at peak times, 12 articulated buses need to be operated on line 23.

As regards the infrastructure, 12 of the line’s 50 bus stops are equipped with a flash feeding station: eight in the P+R P47 direction and four in the Tours-de-Carouge direction (distributed unequally owing to the topography). In addition to two terminal feeding stations, a third station at the airport will ensure the operating flexibility required in the event of heavy traffic, particularly in the Palexpo area during certain events.

Last but not last, four depot feeding stations are installed at the Jonction depot.

 

Planned route at the time of entry into service, showing the various feeding stations