Five buses in five-day major efficiency test
Start and finish line for the three Mercedes-Benz Citaros and the two Setras of the ComfortClass 500 was Wiesbaden, the capital of the German state of Hesse. The run started at 1 p.m. on October 22. With the exception of two refuelling stops each day, the five buses operated around the clock for five days straight.
Three Citaros in round-the-clock urban regular service in Wiesbaden
For the urban bus comparison the new Euro VI-certified Mercedes-Benz Citaro competed as a standard bus against its predecessors with comparable power output. In each case power was transferred by the fully automatic ZF Ecolife torque converter transmission. Also identical was the final drive ratio of i=5.771.
All Citaros operated in line service on the demanding route 17 in Wiesbaden. It traverses the city centre of Hesse’s capital including the pedestrian zone and outlying areas.
To ensure realistic operating conditions, the test buses followed the urban buses in regular service at a significant distance. They also maintained a significant distance between each other. The elevation change along Route 17, which is 18.6 km long, is over 400 metres. The buses completed 17 round trips each day and stopped at each bus stop where the buses were lowered using the kneeling function and the passenger doors were opened.
Record Run Buses 2012: Mercedes-Benz Citaro