Qbuzz

Qbuzz BV
Basic information
Web presence	qbuzz.nl
Reference year	2016
owner	Busitalia
legal form	Besloten vennootschap
Seat	Amersfoort
founding	2008
Managing directors	Gerrit Spijksma
Employee	1846
sales	EUR 213 million
Lines
Gauge	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
railroad	2
Light rail	2
bus	223
Length of line network
Railway lines	71 km
Light rail lines	20.7 km
Operating facilities
Depots	18th

Qbuzz is a Dutch transport company based in Amersfoort in the province of Utrecht .

history

The company was founded in April 2008 by Rob van Holten and Leon Struijk, former members of the Connexxion Board of Directors . Many employees who had previously worked for Connexxion changed employers and were now employed by Qbuzz. The Dutch railway company Nederlandse Spoorwegen initially received 49 percent of the company shares from Qbuzz. Initially, Qbuzz only operated regional buses in the Rotterdam region and in Zuidoost- Friesland . The concession for the provinces of Drenthe and Groningen from December 13, 2009 was granted to Qbuzz, which has been operating the bus routes there ever since. In spring 2013, the Nederlandse Spoorwegen became one hundred percent owner of Qbuzz. Qbuzz buses and light rail vehicles have been operating in the Utrecht region since December 8 of the same year . On February 1, 2018 Gerrit Spijksma became the new managing director of Qbuzz and thus successor to Jan Kouwenhoven. At the beginning of December 9, 2018, Qbuzz took over the Drechtsteden, Molenlanden and Gorinchem concessions of the R-net local transport concept from Arriva and is responsible for the local rail and bus traffic.

sale

In March 2016, the Nederlandse Spoorwegen announced that they wanted to sell the subsidiary Qbuzz. The main aim was to get rid of regional rail concessions, which were no longer counted among the core tasks of the Nederlandse Spoorwegen. As early as 2015, it was rumored that Qbuzz would be taken over by the French railway company SNCF . However, the works council resisted a sale to a foreign company. The search for a buyer began in July 2016. A year later, on July 13, 2017, Qbuzz was sold to Busitalia, a subsidiary of the Italian railway company Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane . In addition to Busitalia, several companies were interested. According to the Nederlandse Spoorwegen, the choice fell on Busitalia because no job cuts are expected and the takeover will have no impact on Qbuzz's services. The cost of the takeover amounted to 30 million euros .

Traffic areas

So far, Qbuzz has organized local public transport in the provinces of Drenthe, Friesland, Groningen and Zuid-Holland . The various areas of responsibility included the operation of buses, passenger trains and light rail vehicles.

present

In 2019 Qbuzz is active in the provinces of Drenthe and Groningen as well as in the Utrecht region and in the Drechtsteden, Molenlanden and Gorinchem concessions.

Groningen and Drenthe

Since December 13, 2009, Qbuzz has been managing local public transport in the provinces of Drenthe and Groningen on behalf of the OV-bureau Groningen Drenthe. The competitors Arriva and Connexxion also participated in the tender for the concession. Arriva went to court based on the decision, but was unable to win the litigation. The license, which was originally issued for a period of six years, was renewed for two years in December 2012 to December 2017 as well as in December 2014. In 2018, Qbuzz won the award of the subsequent concession, which will last until December 8, 2029 and is worth around one billion euros. Arriva and Connexxion were left behind again.

Qbuzz operated 105 bus routes in the region in 2019. Qbuzz is also responsible for the Q-link BRT concept . The transport network, which consists of seven bus lines, is intended to make public transport “high quality” ( Dutch : hoogwaardig ). In addition to normal (city) bus routes, there are also regular (city) bus routes between Appingedam and Delfzijl , Appingedam and Loppersum , Appingedam and Ten Boer, Gieten and Stadskanaal , Groningen and Ten Boer , Grootegast and Leek , Leek and Marum , Leens and Zoutkamp , Loppersum and Uithuizen, Sellingen and Stadskanaal , Veendam and Wildervank and in Delfzijl and Hoogezand also citizens buses between Groningen, Roden and Leek night buses .

Qbuzz employs 1200 people in Drenthe and Groningen, carries out the concession for 350 buses and has 13 local branches. Qbuzz transports around 80,000 passengers every day.

Utrecht region

Since December 8, 2013, Qbuzz has operated 76 bus routes and the Utrecht light rail system in the Utrecht region . Qbuzz had already stood as a candidate for the award in 2010 and 2011 and this was also able to win, but was ousted by Connexxion through an appeal. On October 8, 2012, it was announced that Qbuzz was awarded the concession from December 2013. Connexxion again complained against the award, but the lawsuit was dismissed. Qbuzz began service with the start of the new concession on December 8, 2013.

On behalf of Qbuzz, 76 bus and two light rail lines operate in the Utrecht region. Seven of the bus routes are used as night buses.

150,000 passengers use Qbuzz's buses and light rail vehicles every day. 1200 people work for Qbuzz in the Utrecht region. The company uses around 300 buses and 26 light rail vehicles for transport.

Drechtsteden, Molenlanden and Gorinchem

Since December 9, 2018, the Drechtsteden, Molenlanden and Gorinchem concessions have been the responsibility of Qbuzz. The concession is part of the R-net and was previously operated by Arriva. For the operation of the MerwedeLingelijn , a railway connection between Dordrecht and Geldermalsen , Qbuzz took over the trains of the Stadler GTW type from Arriva. It is the first rail line managed by Qbuzz.

Qbuzz operates 42 bus routes and two train routes in the catchment area. The trains taken over by Arriva are to be redesigned in the red and gray colors of R-net in the course of 2019 and receive some renovations. The seats are to be modernized, USB connections are to be installed and the trains are to be equipped with Wi-Fi . In addition, Qbuzz plans to purchase new vehicles for bus transport.

Railway lines

In the 2019 annual timetable , the following lines operate on MerwedeLingelijn:

Train type	Line course	frequency
Stop clean	Dordrecht  - Gorinchem	every half hour; Part of the R-net traffic concept
Stop clean	Dordrecht  - Gorinchem  - Geldermalsen	every half hour; Part of the R-net traffic concept

Vehicle fleet

The Qbuzz fleet includes many buses, but also some light rail vehicles and trains. In March 2019, the company counted 780 buses, 26 light rail vehicles and ten trains.

buses

Qbuzz uses buses from various manufacturers. In March 2019, the order for 164 electric buses that are to run in the north of the Netherlands was announced. They are to be delivered in late summer and used from December of the same year. 20 to 30 hydrogen buses have also been ordered for 2020.

model	number		operation area	image	Remarks
	total	in operation
Volvo 8700	10	0	Zuidoost-Friesland		have been used by Connexxion since 2010
Berkhof Duvedec	3	0	Rotterdam region		previously at RET in use
Den Oudsten B96	21st	0
MAN Caetano	1	0
MAN Lion's City TÜ	90	0
	41	0	Zuidoost-Friesland
Optare Solo SR	1	0	Utrecht region
MAN Lion's Regio C	7th	0	Zuidoost-Friesland		returned after the lease expires
MAN Lion's City Ü CNG	7th	0			exported after the concession expires
The Oudsten Alliance	4th	0			were exported to Bosnia and Herzegovina in January 2011
VW Crafter Volt	4th	2
Mercedes-Benz Sprinter	4th	0
Mercedes-Benz Intouro	7th	0			meanwhile in use at Arriva
Mercedes-Benz Citaro	50	15th	Groningen and Drenthe
Ebusco 2.0 Electric	2	2
Ebusco 2.2 Electric	60	0
Van Hool new A330FC	2	2
Mercedes-Benz Citaro Compact Hybrid	4th	4th
Mercedes-Benz Citaro G	103	89
Mercedes-Benz Citaro LE	269	237	Groningen and Drenthe region of Utrecht
Mercedes-Benz CapaCity	9	9	Groningen and Drenthe
VDL Citea SLFA 181 electric	10	10
VDL Citea SLFA 180 electric	11	2
Hess lighTram	3	0
Mercedes-Benz Integro	41	15th	Groningen and Drenthe Zuidoost-Friesland		were partially exported
Mercedes-Benz Integro L	26th	26th	Groningen and Drenthe
Van Hool TDX 27 Astromega	5	5			first double-decker bus in Dutch bus transport
Mercedes-Benz Sprinter	4th	4th
Mercedes-Benz Sprinter City	6th	0			partly in use at Arriva
Mercedes-Benz Citaro	66	66	Utrecht region
Mercedes-Benz Citaro G	90	90			partly previously used at Connexxion
Van Hool newAGG300	37	17th			20 buses were borrowed from GVU
Hess lighTram	3	3
Optare Solo EV	3	3
Altas Cityline	13	13
Mercedes-Benz Sprinter	10	10
Mercedes-Benz Sprinter City	6th	4th
VDL Berkhof Ambassador ALE120	131	131			previously used at Connexxion
Ebusco 2.0 Electric	10	10
Volvo 7700	10	0	Drechtsteden, Molenlanden and Gorinchem
Ebusco 2.2 Electric	37	0
MAN Lion's City TÜ	35	35			previously used at Connexxion
Rošero First (electric motor)	6th	6th			previously in use at Arriva
VDL Citea LLE 99-E	2	2			previously in use at Arriva
Scania-Higer A30	22nd	22nd
Iveco Bus Crossway	66	66
Rošero First (diesel engine)	10	10
Tribus Civitas	40	40
Ebusco 2.0 Electric	2	0	Groningen and Drenthe		Test bus

Light rail vehicles

The 26 light rail vehicles operated by SIG are owned by the Bestuur Regio Utrecht and operated by Qbuzz.

model	number		operation area	image	Remarks
	total	in operation
Zwitserse trams	27	26th	Utrecht region
CAF Urbos 100 (5 pieces)	27	0
CAF Urbos 100 (7 pieces)	22nd	0
Weense trams E6	7th	0			not in use since July 2014
Weense trams C6	3	0			not in use since July 2014

Trains

Qbuzz owns ten Stadler GTW trains, which Arriva took over with the start of the new concession on December 9, 2018.

model	number		operation area	image	Remarks
	total	in operation
Stadler GTW	10	10	Drechtsteden, Molenlanden and Gorinchem		previously in use at Arriva

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Qbuzz. In: 2016.nsjaarverslag.nl. Nederlandse Spoorwegen, accessed March 9, 2019 (Dutch). 
2. ↑ Nieuweling Qbuzz met 144 bussen de weg op. In: Trouw . De Persgroep Nederland , December 13, 2008, accessed March 9, 2019 (Dutch). 
3. ↑ ^{a b} Frits Poelman: Busvervoer in Drenthe en Groningen blijft dead 2030 in the hands of Qbuzz. In: Dagblad van het Noorden . NDC mediagroep, July 12, 2018, accessed March 9, 2019 (Dutch). 
4. ↑ ^{a b} Bart Pals: Qbuzz wint concessie stadsregio Utrecht. In: OVPro.nl. ProMedia Group, October 8, 2012, accessed March 9, 2019 . 
5. ↑ Inge Jacobs: Gerrit Spijksma wordt algemeen directeur van Qbuzz. In: OVPro.nl. ProMedia Group, January 23, 2018, accessed March 9, 2019 (Dutch). 
6. ^ ^{A b} Qbuzz van start in regio Dordrecht, including Merwedelingelijn. In: Treinreiziger.nl. December 11, 2018, accessed March 9, 2019 (Dutch). 
7. ↑ ANP : NS wil copy Qbuzz. In: AD . De Persgroep Nederland , July 11, 2016, accessed March 9, 2019 . 
8. ↑ Inge Jacobs: NS verkoopt Qbuzz aan Italiaanse Busitalia. In: OVPro.nl. ProMedia Group, July 13, 2017, accessed March 9, 2019 (Dutch). 
9. ↑ Huib de Zeeuw: NS verkoopt Qbuzz aan Busitalia. In: NRC Handelsblad . NRC Media, July 13, 2017, accessed March 9, 2019 (Dutch). 
10. ↑ Marieke van Gompel: Busitalia betaalt 30 miljoen voor Qbuzz. In: OVPro.nl. ProMedia Group, August 31, 2017, accessed March 9, 2019 (Dutch). 
11. ↑ Qbuzz blijft nog twee jaar long rijden. In: rtvnoord.nl. RTV Noord , December 16, 2014, accessed on March 9, 2019 (Dutch). 
12. ↑ ^{a b} Regio’s. In: qbuzz.nl. Qbuzz, accessed March 9, 2019 (Dutch). 
13. ^ Inge Jacobs: Treinen op MerwedeLingelijn krijgen R-netstijl. In: OVPro.nl. ProMedia Group, February 22, 2018, accessed March 9, 2019 (Dutch). 
14. ↑ ^{a b} Qbuzz co-opt 164 electric buses for Noord-Nederland. In: Treinreiziger.nl. March 5, 2019, accessed March 9, 2019 (Dutch). 

Web links

Commons : Qbuzz  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Official website (Dutch)