TecnoBus Gulliver 10

Location: Via Florida at Largo Argentina, Rome, Italy
Operator of Vehicle: ATAC
Date of Photo: January 29, 2008

Many bus systems throughout the world are beginning to make a strong push towards electric powered vehicles. However, some agencies have already experimented with electric buses, to varying degrees of success.  In 1995, Rome ordered nearly 60 Gulliver electric buses from TecnoBus to run on a handful of routes that could not handle standard size buses.  These buses, in addition to being less than 6 meters (18 feet) long, also did not create vibrations that would damage old buildings in and near the city center.  The original fleet has been since been replaced by newer buses around 2010.  Unfortunately, the entire fleet was sidelined in 2014 after several buses caught fire.  Last year, the Rome municipality and TecnoBus reached an agreement to “revamp” the buses in an effort to get them back on the street.  More recently, TecnoBus was purchased by the Italian firm Enertronica.

For more photos of Rome’s TecnoBus Gulliver buses, please click here.