PARIS (Reuters) -The public transport operator (RATP) in Paris temporarily suspended on Friday the use of 149 electric buses made by Bollore’s Bluebus brand after two of the vehicles caught fire.
“The RATP has requested a full report from the manufacturer Bollore to explain the causes of these incidents,” the state-owned transport company said in a statement.
Officials at the part of Bollore that makes the Bluebus fleet did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
On Friday, a fully electrified bus caught fire close to the French capital’s national library, the RATP said in a statement, adding that no passenger was harmed.
“Given that this was the second fire recently on an electric bus of the same Bollore Bluebus 5SE series in less than a month, RATP took the decision … to temporarily withdraw the 149 electric buses,” RATP said.
Earlier this month, another burning Bluebus vehicle sent a column of thick black smoke into the skies of central Paris on the upmarket Saint-Germain boulevard.
RATP, which runs one of the busiest public transport networks in Europe, said it had 500 electric buses in its fleet of 4,700 vehicles.
The RATP’s electric buses are supplied by: Bollore Bluebus, Alstom and CNH’s Heuliez Bus.
(Reporting by Tassilo Hummel; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta and David Clarke)
