Pilot project with 52 electric buses launched to electrify regional transport in Sweden

A major pilot project has commenced in Värmland, a county in central-western Sweden, where local transport organizer Värmlandstrafik and service provider Nobina are deploying a total of 52 fully electric buses throughout 2025. These three-axle vehicles, supplied by Polish manufacturer Solaris, will explore the potential for electrifying regional transport under real operating conditions, with a focus on leveraging synergies between urban and intercity routes.

The project aims to conduct an extensive test under actual operating conditions to determine how a fully electric transport system can function long-term on intercity and regional lines. The first buses have already arrived and started operating in the Karlstad area. Another key area of investigation for the pilot program is how to efficiently coordinate urban and intercity services and flexibly allocate buses between these segments. Therefore, the newly deployed buses are designed with three doors in an urban configuration to maximize interoperability between the two types of transport.

The acquisition of the 52-bus fleet is entirely funded by service provider Nobina, which does not place any direct additional financial burden on the county’s budget. Under the agreement between Värmlandstrafik and Nobina, the buses enter service as part of the jointly executed pilot project, with the region potentially acquiring them through a future public procurement. In the long term, the project’s costs are offset by lower fuel expenses, reduced maintenance needs, optimized scheduling and routing, and government subsidies for electric buses. As part of the investment, Nobina is not only procuring the vehicles but also electrifying the Våxnäs bus depot in Karlstad, providing the necessary technical support for the electric fleet.

A central goal of the project is to uncover how electric drivetrains require a different operational logic compared to vehicles with traditional internal combustion engines. This is particularly challenging in regional transport, where longer routes, more dispersed stop structures, and varied driving dynamics significantly impact vehicle range and energy consumption. For Värmlandstrafik, collecting detailed data on the buses’ actual range, charging cycles, and route optimization possibilities during the trial operation is of paramount importance.

The Värmland pilot project is not only a milestone for local transport organization but also a noteworthy initiative at the European level. Insights gained from the project can assist other regions’ transport authorities in integrating electric drives into longer-distance, less frequently served routes that have traditionally been dominated by diesel operations. The expansion of electric intercity transport is supported not only by public policy intentions but also by industry developments. Manufacturers are increasingly focusing on extending the range of intercity electric buses, developing charging infrastructure, and optimizing operating costs. Improvements in battery capacity and charging speeds, along with increased reliability of electric drivetrains, forecast fundamental changes in intercity transport.