The Van Hool A308 is a small city bus from the Belgian manufacturer Van Hool. With two doors, a completely low floor and the engine halfway along the body, it was designed for routes through narrow streets where a standard city bus would not fit.
Van Hool A308 at a glance
| Maker | Van Hool, Belgium |
|---|---|
| Type | small city bus |
| Length | 9.5 m |
| Width | 2.35 m |
| Doors | two |
| Floor | completely low floor |
| Engine position | mid-ship |
| Versions | diesel, A308 Hyb hybrid, A308 E electric |
| New design | newA308 |
| Longer variant | A309, half a metre longer |
| Electric version shown | Busworld, October 2013 |
This article is based on one source, the Dutch Wikipedia article on the A308.
History of the Van Hool A308
The A308 was developed as a smaller companion to Van Hool’s standard city buses. At 9.5 metres long and 2.35 metres wide it was a size smaller than a normal city bus and therefore better suited to lines through narrow streets. The hybrid version is half a metre shorter than the diesel bus, which makes the A308 Hyb the smallest bus type in Van Hool’s range. The company also built the A309, a variant half a metre longer. In October 2013 the electric version of the A308 was introduced at Busworld, developed specifically for the European market; buses in the newer design carry the designation newA308.
In the Netherlands the type was used by several operators. In 1993 Stadsvervoer Dordrecht ordered six buses as part of a series of experiments with small city buses: four hybrid buses, an LPG bus and a diesel bus. The buses returned to Van Hool in 1998 and in 1999 some began a second life with De Lijn. In 2001 SVD considered buying the new A308 but chose another type instead. In 1996 BBA ordered two LPG buses, numbered 141 and 142, for the city service of ’s-Hertogenbosch; they returned to Van Hool in 2000 and in 2002 went to the Walloon operator TEC. In 2003 GVU took one bus, 412, on trial and in 2004 ordered four, (4)451 to (4)454, for line 2; GVU was the last Dutch operator of the type and its buses were withdrawn on 8 December 2013.
In Belgium the A308 was widely used by the national operators. De Lijn ordered its first series in 1993 and more followed from 1997; the first hybrid buses of the type arrived in 1999, coming from SVD. TEC bought two buses from Van Hool that had come from BBA and had been LPG or CNG buses before being converted to diesel; they served only the Charleroi city network. In Brussels, MIVB ran thirty A308s on the city service, mainly on less busy lines, where they replaced older A500 buses. In the spring of 2014 three A308 E electric buses entered service on the Bruges city network of De Lijn.
Design and features
- Compact dimensions: 9.5 metres long and 2.35 metres wide, small enough for narrow streets.
- Full low floor: level access through two doors, with the engine mounted mid-ship.
- Hybrid option: the A308 Hyb is half a metre shorter than the diesel bus and the smallest type in the range.
- Electric version: the A308 E was introduced at Busworld in October 2013 for the European market.
- Longer sister: the A309 adds half a metre of length for operators who need more capacity.
Van Hool A308 versions
- A308: the standard diesel bus with two doors.
- newA308: buses delivered in the newer Van Hool design.
- A308 Hyb: hybrid version, half a metre shorter than the diesel bus.
- A308 E: electric version shown at Busworld in October 2013.
- A309: a variant half a metre longer.
The A308 is the compact member of the A-series alongside the A300 and the articulated AG300. More buses are in the Van Hool collection.
Video: Van Hool presents the A308 Electric at Busworld Kortrijk 2013
Video on YouTube.
Sources
- Van Hool A308, Dutch Wikipedia: dimensions, versions, Dutch and Belgian fleets
