This survey is starting in recent time, and goes along some 40 years back. You get further back in time, the more you scroll down. In other words, most types shown are now gone. A little history can be useful when you try to identify vehicles spotted in an old picture or brochure et.al. The presented buses are foremostly used within the city limits of Göteborg. As there is some 15-20 more communities in the metropolitan area, this presentation is a far cry from complete. The companies that use/ used these buses, are mainly Göteborgs spårvägar (abbreviated GS), Swebus (started out as SJ, and is now called Nobina), and Linjebuss (abbreviated LB), now called Veolia, and also for a brief period Connex. A new undertaker is Keolis (former Busslink and SL).
It could be said at once, that some motley collection of test vehicles are missing in this list. Then again, even in the state of admitted incompleteness, nothing to my knowledge on the Internet, comes even close to this list. Enough bragging, let's start.
This type is so new, that I don't even know the complete tally. Linjebuss, now Veolia is back in business in the western transit district. They had it before in 1993-2000. I think we can put up with these rather handsome and spacious buses for another 7 years or so.
Similar to the bogie variety, but a shorter vehicle, and also in a shorter number sequence. I guess 12 in the type designation is for 12 meters length?
Keolis is former Busslink, and before that SL (greater Stockholm transit). Is this the Stockholmers revenge; to operate buses in Göteborg too..? These buses are used in Mölndal.
And...you guessed it. Even these comes in a shorter version, also for Mölndal. No picture yet.
This type is based in Partille, and mostly used for services outside the city limits of Göteborg. Thus it is a little bit outside the limited scope of this article. They are however operating route 510, that is doubtless functioning at least partially as a local service in the semicentral districts of town.
So this is how the new trunk buses looks like. Identical to just any ordinary bus service. The perk is that no specific fleet needs to be set aside for this function. The downside - harder to spot. This type is partly used for route 16, parallel to the dedicated double articulated buses still in service. They can also be encountered at route 58, 24, and more. The number of vehicles are pending the final knowledge about this new undertaker.
I can't say why the company ordered these, and in such large numbers on top of it. They started to appear in Mölndal, just by the end of GS contract there. If GS had got it extended, it makes perfect sense. This was not the case, so a tremendous surplus of rather new vehicles ensued. They can now be seen just about anywhere. Some of these have been sold to Veolia in the western parts of town. Renumbered in the 300 sequence.
A very small batch indeed. They can still be spotted where you least expect it, but to a large extent at route 60. This happened since some of the MAN buses at home there, left Göteborg.
Even in bright sunlight, it is an exploit to get a decent picture of the buses in this dark and deep blue shade. The former striped liveries - be it the blue GS or white GL - is so much more photogenic. Some of these vehicles are equipped as trunk buses, but not always used that way. The concept of the trunk routes is maybe destined to become increasingly more insipid by the day?
These are a one-time wonder. I am pretty sure, that there will not be more of them. Savour them as long as these marvels will last. All are now renumbered and transfered to the undertaker Linjebuss/ Veolia. Alas, the new operator appears to be very reluctant to use these buses. The exclusive domain for these today, is route 16. 17 was however from the very start a more common place for them.
This type really filled some blanks in the numbering sequences! They did not arrive at the same time either. This type deluged the Frölunda area for a while, but since almost vanished overnight. I have a rather limited supply of pictures, as there was no need to hurry with these new buses. I thought.
There is a compicated structure to this series. When untangling this, we need to know that the deliveries have not been in the same sequence as the numbers would indicate. 551-585 arrived as the first buses in 2004, and was followed in 2005 by 586-591 in trunk route livery, and 592-598 in the ordinary deep blue. 544-550 was completing the lower sequence (bordering to Den Oudsten) in 2006. Finally (we'll have to see about that), 599-613 in 2008. Hisingen and Angered is the main turf for all of these. The highest numbers are for the moment busy at route 25.
These vehicles have been almost universally operated around Göteborg, or at least the districts that GS have held from time to time. Rather agreeable buses, but the seats constantly makes creaking noises!
The foremost domain for this fleet has been route 60, but also a number of other services are possible. Some have moved on to Borås by now, but renumbered. That city also uses some CNG buses - and the same livery - so they are easily interchangeable. The new numbers in Borås are 25080-86, that is formerly GS 725/ 730-735.
Even as this type only numbered four vehicles, they seemed to be everywhere in Mölndal for a few years. I guess there is nothing wrong with these, but when you have bargained for a ride or a picture of the (almost) ubiquitous Den Oudsten, and these show up all the time...Where the hell are they now?.
Closely related to the equivalent GS model above, and also delivered in a very low number. These are now used in Trollhättan.
The new concept of trunk routes was an implementation of the "city bus" in Jönköping. In Göteborg it was more likened to a rubber tired tram, in which fashion they also were painted. The first of these routes became 16 - an instant success, while the first 17 buses wasn't that appreciated by GS. They lasted less than 5 years in service.
The replacement was higher numbers of 900, with engine in the front section, and also the 800:s with an extra section in the middle. 918 and upwards are still in service, mostly at trunk route 17. These were all deep blue from the onset, but have been redesigned as trunk buses as the need have arised, when more routes have opened (now 4 excist). Those buses that aren't coloured for this service, but still blue, are used for other purposes. Though this is not a waterproof rule.
This was an unlucky collection of buses, barely used more than three years. After the termination of a contract in 2004, they were stored in the town of their making. On top of being a mostly unpopular model at large, they were also gas-powered. This meant that only a few other cities comes to mind. Among them Göteborg, naturally. GS didn't show compassion enough to take more than a few of them (renumbered 949-951). A few have since also showed up in Malmö, Linköping and Eskilstuna.
Very much like 4600-17. At least the latter was painted in the white/ striped livery of GL. I can't remember much about these, even as they stayed in the town during three years. After all I don't live there, just come visiting on a regular basis.
These were so few, and used during such a short time that I have no pictures at all of them, good or bad.
These have stayed faithful to Göteborg all the time. Similar to the following batches for Swebus and GS.
Equivalent to the following GS buses. These moved to Stockholm - Nacka district. Among the few buses that have been used to a decent amount after the transition. But...maybe not on the most "prestigous" services.
This type is rather agreeable. Alas, no doubt their demise is nigh. The "hundreds" were used in Kungsbacka for most of their time, but then moved to Göteborg. The "twohundreds" have been common on routes like 771 and 35, among others. As the number of vehicles is low, and the age is high, it is hard to find any of them.
Yet some other cousins to the types above. These entered service rather recently (around 2007), as they were brought second hand from Veolia/ Linjebuss in Scania state. To start with, they were actually yellow. Even when repainted in blue, all but one (?) kept their original red Scania fabric with arrows, as cover on the seats. They were used in Kungsbacka at the onset, but later in Mölndal. Now completely gone, I believe.
Another second hand purchase. These two came from Mariestad, but stayed for a number of years in the western district of Göteborg. This type has been almost universal all around Sweden, but extremely rare in the Göteborg area.
These were as far as I know the very first MAN city buses in Sweden. Now it is the third largest brand. The credit for this forward-looking (?) decision is not enterily due to GS. This batch was ordered for Swebus in Stockholm, but for some reason they changed their mind. I have seen those painted in red, so it must be real, even if few people in the know seems to know it now...The five low numbers was of the short type, while the five latter artics. Obviously GS liked these a lot, as they have since got more under their belt, than of almost any other kind. This first batch is however gone. Another first with these MAN, was the deep blue livery, that I believed to be an experiment. Little did I know...
This was a continuation of the numbers endowed to the articulated buses ordered at the same time. It was a reinforcement of the fleet, for the event of yet more former GS lines, being obtained by Swebus. I got the impression that these were rather liked through there four years in the city. All have moved on to other places since.
Another batch of articulated buses similar to those delivered in 1997-98 (42 and 4400 series). These differed in that the engine was mounted standing on one half of the back side, and thus giving a corner of low floor all the way back. After just 4 years they moved to Kalmar and Stockholm. Those residing in Stockholm were blatantly loathed all the while they stayed there. One Swebus operated district after another got a taste of these, but soon discarded them.
It doesn't seem to matter if it has been Scania or Volvo, Säffle bodies or Carrus, former Linjebuss or Swebus. All buses with lineage traced from Göteborg, have been disliked from day one as they arrived in Stockholm. -Is it that awful to think about these buses former history, running up and down the "Avenue" or the hills of Angered? The people in the national capital Stockholm have a major problem with Göteborg, that's for sure! (mirror, mirror on the wall...)
Express buses, the two first reinforcment for the Red line, and the rest for the Blue line. The Blue express had now been affected by the new decision that all express buses should be yellow. Most other buses became on the other hand... blue. Eventually yellow was dropped, and these were again blue by the end.
The Blue express buses preceding this roster was not blue either, but for the front alone. The rest was white with stripes in the three colours symbolising Göteborg (red), Mölndal, Partille, Öckerö, Härryda (yellow/ orange), and the rest of the suburban landscape (blue). The actual colour coding of the express buses had no correlation to this however. The fluke to paint them completely in one colour was only effective for a few years. For the record: 211 and 214 was red alright.
This large batch was unique for Sweden. Den Oudsten hasn't been sold much outside the Flemish area, but here they found a home. They were definitely at ease with the norhern climate, warm and cosy. A driver wrote on another site, that they went on like a bandwagon even through deep snow. I can't recall to have ever seen any of these buses being towed away by a truck, or even standing by the roadside with flashing lights. These Den Oudsten were in one word an excellent peace of engineering. Even as they were heavily and faithfully used through all their ten years time, I can't help but feel that this still was something of an underappreciated bus design. I missed them even long before they were actually gone. I knew almost from the start that I would.
They started life on route 34 in June 1999, but was soon moved to Majorna, as the numbers increased. Up to 321 was for almost all of their time a foolproof mainstay at routes 50 and 94, but also a lot at 58, 90, 91 and 99 too. The vehicles from 322-338 was decorated in dark blue as opposed to the lighter blue stripes, that the earliest got. The second batch was also CNG powered, something that turned out to be their bane. As popular as the low numbers were, as hard to find was the higher numbers. They were mostly used on peak hour routes like 28, 29 and 130. Some of the low numbers was also repainted in dark blue in the latter years.
These first Den Oudsten went to Ale uppstreams Göta river. In the final years they could be savoured in Kungsbacka and Mölndal, where they joined their comrades from a later batch. In spite of their higher age they were used until the end, by age 11. I guess Mölndal don't have as stringent rules (maximum 10 years) as within the city limits of Göteborg. 350-367 was identical to 501-515/ 521-540, while the three last (368-370) differed a little, similar to 541-543.
This was a one off in Sweden. The first and only time that this all tourist vehicle was used in scheduled revenue service. Red Express was the name, and the buses was fitted with an appropriate livery. For a number of years they were roaming the highways between Stenungsund - Göteborg - Landvetter (not the airport, but the village). In the final years of their career, they got a blue livery, and was used mostly on route 99, 114 and 771. But just about any service maintained by Majorna depot could do. Really comfy buses, believe me.
Ordered for use in Lerum, and sporting the rare silver/ butterfly livery. These moved to Ale for a while. Then moved again to Majorna, where they got the new dark blue livery. They could be seen at most services fanning out from Frölunda torg, in the western part of town. Really sturdy and solid vehicles. Especially the seats are unsurpassed in authenticity, and also used for several types before (earliest on 901-926 in the 1970:s). These buses lingered on for a long time, and didn't disappeare until 2009. After that they were replaced by repainted Den Oudsten from Mölndal for less than a year, until their respective demise.
This is a popular Swedish bus, now in its vane. As often have been the case, they were however very absent from the Göteborg area. These have mostly seen service as school buses around Stenungsund, and also taken part of bus replacement schemes in Göteborg in recent years. There is also a lot more rare guests spotted on those occasions.
These were to an identical design of 4262-73, that arrived the year before. After 2004 they ended up in Södertälje, and seemed to be in heavy use for a brief period. I guess that the staff in the depot was early on engaged in finding a way to get rid of them. After just a few months they had succeded, and once more started to use their own even older buses. Buses from Göteborg - scary.
I think that these were meant to be used at route 24/ 240 (the number have changed off and on). When the line was transfered to Linjebuss a few years after, this batch was used for route 140 etcetera. In 2004 they mowed to Stockholm (maybe not all of them), and was then running at route 401 among others.
At the same time as the articulated buses below arrived, some short buses was also put into use. These had the same engine and basical layout, but with bodies from Carrus (formerly Wiima, Ajokki and Delta combined). Not all went to Stockholm after their seven year stint in Göteborg, but some examples did. I haven't got the impression that the drivers exactly did a high-five when they saw these, but some were at least used for a while more.
As this type was used only for seven years, it is a sad example of waste. When Swebus lost a contract, they moved these buses to the Stockholm area. Even as the fleet was reorganised over and over, and these vehicles changed places from one depot to another, nobody in Stockholm wanted them.
I liked these a little bit more than many other vehicles in recent years. The limited quantity meant that they only covered route 21, and later the dismantled pieces by one end of it, called 517 and 518. Some stayed long enough to get a new paint. The pictured bus has the original livery, also shared by GS. From the year 1993 this livery wasn't anymore the sole property of GS, but became a city bus livery for all companies having contracts with the city transit. This entity was in turn a subdivision of the traffic authority. Now all of it is handled by the state authorities transit office in Skövde (Västtrafik).
This is more like a short parenthesis, and should maybe be further up. The reason is that these few buses were later in their career obtained second hand from Uppsala (GUB), but didn't stay very long in Göteborg. Well, except for those waiting for the scrapman, in a yard in the eastern part of town. A real pity, as these buses was a rather exclusive airport bus from the original town. Maybe less suited for any hectic downtown service.
It may be a stretch to lump these together. There is on the other hand a common history to these, and also of a similar design. 17-22 was B10L, while 25-27 was B10LE. 23 and 24 is hanging in the balance, as I just don't remember. All came from Denmark around 2003, and utmostly lasted to around 2008-09. I adored all of these, as I like the model, and also their exotic heritage.
It may be too far low in this list, as these only came to Göteborg late in their career. It was only for a brief time you could savour these, about 2003-2004. The bodywork was of a rare Aabenraa design, with seats in British style (I loved those). These few buses was mostly in service at route 771, which is funny, as some Aabenraa also was used in those neighborhoods in the 1980:s.
Some of these survived long enough to be repainted in the darker blue livery implemented 2000, and onwards. The last vehicles in the old livery might have been operated in june 2010. Though these were history long before that - 2006 to be more specific. Just as their delivery, their demise happened one at a time. The two lowest numbers were transfered to Swebus in 1997, and also renumbered. Swebus first used them in Uppsala, and then Stockholm. One of the latter was devoured by fire. I also have a note for two more as "severely damaged", but just cannot remember how that happened.
This type was similar to 601-628 purchased by Göteborgs spårvägar. Linjebuss used theirs exclusively for route 58. Some of them was later moved to the Råsta depot in Stockholm. In common with other buses with origin in Göteborg it appeared that the Stockholmers didn't like them. That's funny, as this kind of bus already was extremely common in the capital area at the time.
These buses brougth a new era. One in which a batch of buses isn't always delivered in one take, but gradually over time. The reason is to stave off the average fleet age, that now mustn't exceed 5 years. You heard it right. Delivery was done peacemeal with 5, 4 and finally 10 buses at a time. Later on Swebus aquired some, and renumbered the lot to ...839-853. No wonder that at first I thought that there had been a reinforced batch on top of the old quantity. GS still kept 816-819 until the end.
These four was an anomaly, as they were bogie buses for local city routes - a first in Sweden. Swebus (SJ) had already made the bogie bus close to standard equipment for suburban routes with beginning around 1983 - also a national first (?). Swebus got these four buses in 1997, and renumbered them as 697-700, after which they became rather popular indeed. At their delivery, they were unique among bogies buses in having double sets of doors at both front and middle.
The abbreviation above stands for Linjebuss, later called Connex, and finally Veolia. 13 Scania and 13 Volvo buses were purchased for operation in Frölunda and Askim, as Linjebuss won the tendering procedure for that district in 1993. Officially even this out-of-town company (only operating in Partille before), was supposed to let passengers enter in every door. Alas, without door buttons, passengers were at the mercy of the driver, and this practice of the honor system petered out very fast. -In spite of the instructions from the transit authority! Anyway, it all went down the drain later that same year (August 16 for night services, and September 1 for daytime).
Some chaotic traffic conditions ensued on a number of routes, as the schedules did'nt permit lines of passengers to the front door only. When the schedules was later adjusted, the record was one bus service with a whopping 80% increase in the time needed for one lap. The (percieved) cure for the "high" fare evasion (between 1-15% depending on who you ask) was more expensive than the gains would ever be! Take note other cities.
It is my impression that the Scania buses ordered at the same time, was much more in evidence in the western transit district. My lack of pictures taken of this type, point in that direction. Then again, some of these buses showed up in Mölndal and Partille, at least eventually. This type was also later reinforced with 2514 from Jönköping, and some similar, but not for use in the original home district.
These gas-powered buses were used to the extent, that you could have swored there was thrice as many. I didn't ride with them much, but they must have been running more smoothly than the cavorting later CNG buses. This batch was the last (for 10 years) to get door opening buttons for the self-service of passengers. The two first vehicles got a completely different paint job, that was some consultants vision of a new livery for Göteborg. As most cities change every decade, one may argue that the time was ripe after some 13 years. However public opinion did not appreciate this design at all, so it went to the paper bin immediately. The experimental livery survived on those two buses - 701 and 702 - that retained it to the very end, that came in spring 2004.
At least one of these buses burned down (716), to a twisted and tangled lump of metal. I can't help wonder if that gas in the roof mounted canisters did hasten the fire. A lot more GS Volvo buses have caught fire through the years - something rather worrysome. It is only dumb luck that no people have succumbed yet.
113 was an updated variety of 112, with a different engine. The three speed version, built around 1990-1997, is likely among the best city buses ever built, if you ask me. Extremely sturdy, and amazingly strong. Even as the engine seemed to barely idle, they tended to switch gear and continue to shoot up the steep hills of Masthugget. That's the stuff that a bus enthusiasts dreams are made of.
I use to say that if an American bus driver would get to drive these 20 year old buses, they would appreciate them so much that they would rather work for free, than getting the ordinary buses back. Okej, recent north American vehicles can sometimes measure up to European buses too.
This was more like a second batch of the buses presented two steps below. What differed was the seats, the dot matrix displays for destination, and also the door buttons. The latter resembled rubbery thimbles, that gave all but a reassuring impression when handled. The ventilation was excellent on warm summer days, though AC was still missing. AC continously is, in most local buses around the nation.
Swebus brought three of these (428, 431, 432) to Uppsala in 1997, and back again some four years later. Three were also seen in Helsingborg (435-437), and later moved to Stockholm - getting their third livery. A motley collection of incoherently renumbered buses also stayed in Göteborg, and was in a most strikingly bad shape by the end of their service in 2002. It should be said that Swebus has a haphazard approach to maintenance, as the vehicles in some of their undertakings also are kept in pristine order.
There may be one or more missing from the sequence stated in the headline. Anyhow, these came second hand from Borlänge, and were used in Göteborg for just up to a year. To start with, they retained their original livery, when running as replacement service for tram 3 during the summer of 1999. At least one of those buses was repainted in the striped blue GS livery, and most likely used for route 58.
The city operated bus company in Borås was a trail blazer in scheduled handy van services, and also became the importer of this vehicle from Canada. Soon other cities followed suit, but there never was more than one single line in Göteborg. Even my pa said at the age of over 80, that this bus route was just too meandering and slow for his taste. Now it is gone, and replaced by a much more prolific maxi-taxi kind of service, called flex lines. These are spreading around Sweden from Göteborg this time...
These had a high ceiling, and very spaceous interior. This was the last type to get the large red industrial style emergency-stop-buttons for the passengers own door operation. Oh, how i miss those bottons! They are slightly visible by the door frames, in the illustration for 931-52 further below. The seats in 961-990 was similar to an experimental kind tested in 22 and 378.
In 1997 Swebus got some of these: 961, 965, and 967-971, that was renumbered as 688-694. Those continued to be used in Göteborg for at least 2 years. 977-980 and 982-983 was at the same time moved to Uppsala, also for Swebus. However they did'nt stay for long, as they were extremely unliked by the staff. (Who knows what these hideous big city buses may have experienced in their former existence?)
This vastly popular bus type - introduced in 1978 - was to be found all over the nation. Until 1986 Göteborg was one exception. My guess is that the outcome may have been indirectly impeled by the fact that the most recent Scania order (model 111) was not comletely delivered, when this bus was released. Thus the company board probably felt a little cheated. If they had got - let's say the last ten as 112 - to whet the appetite, the next batch in 1981 may have been Scania too. Who knows?
This type introduced the destination blinds to buses in Göteborg, something that trams have had since 1879...Note that the colours is not the usual black and white, but dark and light blue respectively!
The first batch of 15 entered service in early spring 1986, and the remainder about a year later. They finally dissapeared in 1997. 34 and 35 was at the onset fueled by ethanol, and borrowed by SL in Stockholm for a year. The rest is history, or rather present time, in that Stockholm is said to have the worlds premier fleet of buses running on that fuel. However Göteborg didn't like it at all. 35 was immediately altered to diesel, and actually used in SERVICE after that. 34 became a test platform for CNG, but since hardly used either. At least CNG has becomed almost a standard fuel for Göteborg ever after.
These articulated buses was similar to the short variety under production at the same time. They were heavily used, and very popular among the staff for much of their time. By the end, they could be encountered as replacement buses by extensive track works in the summers of 1992 and 1993. The last vehicles survived as long as early 1997, and thus outlived the simultaineously delivered short variety buses with several years.
There was talk about refurbishing a series of 90 Scania 110 delivered around the change of the rule of the road in 1967-68. As this didn't materialize, these 80 buses (together with 22 artics) came in an astonishingly long period of time. The bodies was of the Finish maker Wiima, but the design derived from Hägglunds. The first vehicles were scrapped as early as 1992, and was finally abandoned around two years later. 137 got a new livery, for use at rentals, and as airport bus for the former airbase turned civil airport, Säve. 180 was kept as an intern vehicle at the shipping line Stena Line, at least until 1999.
The reason that the mid-engine model B10M was chosen, is believed to be that the steering of the rear engine B10R had a hard time negotiating the tram tracks. Let's analyse this: 89% of the tram system uses separate right-of-ways. Only 16 (or was it even less?) of these 80 buses went to a depot with some amount of "track-sharing" to speak about. The buses stayed for only 4 years in that depot, until they moved. The theory for the decision sounds clear enough, but the outcome was that route 60 was the only place where these buses encountered much of the tracks (along some 6-7 stops). As you realise, I would have prefered the B10R design.
Numbers up to around 365 belonged to the Kville depot at Hisingen, while the rest stayed in Gårda. The first 17 got the old colours, while the remainder was light blue with stripes. The first batch of 22 also sounded differently - much less, that is. They were also quite tardy, compared to the more racy and racing 40 last buses. Those changed to the second and final gear in a matter of a few seconds (approximately at 45 km/h), and went like a lightning bolt up and down the steep hills in Angered, where they were mostly at home. The buses of today can't keep up with the schedule in those days! The last of these winsome buses were seen in spring 1992.
I have no good picture of these. 11-14 were two axle buses, while the six latter were articulated. All had Vanhool bodywork. This batch was delivered in connection to the opening of Landvetter airport in 1977, and used as airport buses in all of their career. 14 was then used for a privately paid industrial direct bus service at the end. I think that also 11 was reused as a short distance charter bus. New year 1990 saw a new layout of the airport service, as part of the express bus network. With that event, these buses were history.
These were basically seen on the services 51, 64, 94, and also 92 in summer. In their heyday they were solely the property of Majorna depot. For a while in the beginning the highest numbers was also seen at 24 and 40, as they were part of another depots fleet. By the end they sometimes loomed large at 73, 75 and 76, during saturdays only. 910 was seen much on 56 and 60. 906 is saved as a heritage vehicle, obviously because that very bus appeared on a stamp in the 1970:s. I guess they changed their mind from keeping the somewhat similar 621 (see further below) for this reason. 906 was probably also in a better shape.
The low 10 had another colour, than the latter ones. They also had another MAKER, in spite of having an identical body. The first company transfered the blueprints, so it went rather seamless. The "blue", that is the first ten, was gradually phased out in early 1991, while the remainder dissapeared almost overnight by the fall of that same year. This in spite of the 3-4 years of difference in age. As a fluke these 26 buses was also replaced by precisely 26 new (421-446).
During a 6-year period around circa 1991-97, vehicles from some 12 years of deliveries went to scrap at an increasingly faster pace. the old tradition of keeping the vehicles in service around 15 years, was quickly discarded. What was considered an immoral throw-away culture in the 70:s, became rebranded as environmentally friendly. In fact, some sources maintain that a vehicles production is affecting the environment as much as its subsequent use. I guess it is hard to find reliable facts about this, as there is so much vested interests involved. I still do think this discussion is important to bring into the light.
To start with, an odd test vehicle came in 1972, numbered 101. I don't know the further wherabouts of this. The delivery of 25 buses with semi-automatic transmission took place in 1973-74. They were mostly used on the Island of Hisingen, but three buses (723-25) was borrowed by Säröbussarna for several years. After 1981, when the 100-series (see further up) was recieved, this type was pushed to the shadows, so to speak. In the final years they could be seen as replacement buses - a common destiny during the twilight. A few of these buses was also sold to Mölndalsbussarna, where they got a new livery.
801-35 were all-automatic, and shared between the western district and east. The exact distribution differed, but was usually some 20 and 15 buses respectively. 835 was the first to be painted in the so called design colours (three blue shades in stripes), showed for the press in march 1976. The last vehicle saw service in fall 1988.
271-75 soon followed, and all belonged to the "west". These had a VanHool bodywork, as opposed to Säffle. The last time any of these B59 entered service may have been in late fall of 1988. During their of and on service through much of the 80:s, they were also kept as a so called energy crises reserve.
For some reason rear engine buses from Volvo has never been a hit in Sweden. These were built in just some 200 specimens, while the exported numbers amounted to the tenfold sum. Most other Volvos built with a rear engine has tanked within their home market, except for the bogie buses alone.
No picture available. This type was used firstly at route 27 (now 290 and 291), but mostly for 22. The reason for having these specialised midsize vehicles, wasn't mainly the lack of passengers, but restrictions due to narrow and weak roads in these areas. Otherwise it would make more sense to use overly large buses, just for the sake of standardization of the fleet. The mentioned routes now use fullsize buses.
There was 30 of these, used extensively throughout their career. Even in the summer downtime, there was a call for rail replacement due to track repairs. I loved the deep bass of these strong engines. This bus type introduced the honour system to Göteborg, as all doors was used for entering passengers. It came gradually on the trams only four years before (1969). 604 burned down in the fall of 1983, and 622 met the same destiny in late 1987. At least the second time, it depended on the drivers severe manhandling of the semi-automatic transmission (I was riding a lap of route 34, and got of just minutes before it caught fire). The lions share of the fleet stayed in service close to the very end in june 1988. Replacement for these, came to be the buses 961-990.
These buses were extremely quiet and smooth running. 29 of this type saw service in the eastern parts of town until 1986, but petered out as soon as the first 15 Scania 112 came in that year (21-35). The 500:s were very similar in both appearence and performance to 301-322. The engine was isolated and sound proofed to the level that it needed two radiators to avoid overheating (one on each side behind the rear axis).
This was one of the largest orders put in place for buses over the years. Half of them belonged to Hisingen/ Kville depot, while the rest worked the routes in the western district, based in Majorna/ Klippan depot. As soon as the buses in the "100" batch started to arrive in 1981, Scania 110 was sidelined. It took however until 1983 before the absolutely last was used in service. 414 has survived this far, as a heritage vehicle stored in an old carbarn rented by Ringlinien association. I really do hope that the people making the calls will show some interest in the future restoration of it. The necessary funds are likely available, so an independent company could be engaged for the job. As most members are predominantly tram oriented, we will have to wait for this to happen.
| Göteborg introduction | Selfguided city tour |
| Route numbers | Transit undertakers |
| Vehicles - buses | Vehicles - trams |
| Links and information | Den Oudsten feast (pics) |