Keolis has secured a contract from public transport authority Movia to run and maintain 47 buses, out of which 32 are completely electric, in the Greater Copenhagen area of Denmark.

Worth over €100m, this contract is scheduled to commence in June 2021 and has a duration of up to ten years with another two-year extension option.

The public transport authority of East Denmark has awarded the contract to Keolis’ Danish subsidiary.

Following the receipt of this contract, Keolis has become one of the largest zero-emission transport operators in the country, where it operates in nine cities.

The Greater Copenhagen area is the largest and most populous island of Denmark, with 2.5 million inhabitants and five large cities.

With this contract, the firm will integrate over 170 new employees, including 150 drivers that will cover a combined distance of six million kilometres annually.

The firm will also be responsible for maintenance work carried out at a newly built depot and workshop facility in Nykøbing Falster.

Three other depots in Naverland (Copenhagen), Slagelse and Korsør in the west will also feature charging terminals.

Keolis International CEO Bernard Tabary said: “We are delighted that Movia, our partner since 2007, has again placed its trust in us with the award of this new contract.

“Movia can count on our full dedication to delivering the best passenger experience and supporting the transition to greener buses, thanks to our worldwide experience in zero-emission bus operations in Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, France, Canada and the US.”

Since last year, Keolis has been awarded contracts to run fossil-free buses in Gothenburg in Sweden, 140 buses, most of which are electric, in Bergen in Norway, and 346 electric buses in three provinces in the Netherlands.

In France, Keolis introduced a complete hydrogen BRT line in Pau and 100% electric BRT lines in Bayonne-Biarritz and Amiens.

In the US, the firm also operates electric buses in Greensboro in North Carolina, Foothill in South California and Reno in Nevada. It is also the largest operator of the completely electric C-type school buses in Canada.

Meanwhile, in December, Keolis partnered with Châteauroux Metropole and the French Shooting Federation to test its self-driving vehicles at the National Centre for Shooting Sports (CNTS) in Châteauroux, France.