Last winter season, Zeat, the VIP brand within private transfer service Cool Bus began running a regular, fully electric transfer service from Geneva airport to the Tarentaise valley. This has resulted in their winning the Travel Innovation category at the World Snow Awards in London in October 2017 and represents a fantastic step towards more sustainable winter travel.
Using a Tesla Model X SUV for this service over the 2016/17 season, Zeat were able to run 147 transfers over 45,000 km, all completely carbon emission free. This cut the company’s carbon emissions by 5% compared to the previous winter and the Tesla proved such a hit that they have ordered another for the coming winter season. This, Cool Bus hopes, will increase the fleet’s emission free travels to 10%, and we are very much looking forward to seeing how this number will develop over the next few years.
As Climate Change is an issue that is very close to the heart of the winter sports community, this venture from Cool Bus definitely represents a step in the right direction. It is extremely regrettable that for many skiers, the steps they have to take to get to those beloved mountains are not the most sustainable (e.g. air travel). With new schemes such as this from Cool Bus and the growing opportunities for rail travel to the slopes, the industry is definitely moving towards increasing understanding of the importance of sustainability as well as providing practical solutions.
The decision to go electric was quite a risk for Cool Bus, as they had not had the opportunity to test drive the Tesla Model X SUV, and so were banking on being correctly informed that it would be able to go the distance (complete with guests and ski luggage!). Not only this, but the range of the car had not been tested in sub-zero temperatures, so Cool Bus had to undergo a fair few test runs before they could be totally confident that it’s range was more than enough. However, it’s ended up a risk they are glad they took and proved incredibly popular last season.
Using a Seasucker roof rack, the Zeat Tesla Model X SUV is able to easily carry four guests as well as luggage and skis and is very convenient for transfer use. Many guests seem to be impressed with the lack of engine noise and smooth ride – ideal to aid much-needed transfer nap on your way to resort! Also proving popular is the in-car 3-G and a state of the art media system. Spotify any song you want? Go for it. Radio stations from across the world? TuneIn has you covered. Easily connect a guests’ phone to allow them to become the DJ? Of course! We’re sure the 3G addition will be extremely popular with younger guests too…
Currently, the use of this transfer counts as part of the Zeat VIP package, which costs €495 each way from Geneva, and €395 each way from Chambery. If this is slightly above budget, you could also book a regular Cool Bus transfer and hope that you get offered a VIP upgrade! Either way, you are contributing to a company that are actively trying to decrease their carbon emissions – win/win really.
To learn more, head to http://thecoolbus.co.uk/ or to read more about the growing opportunities for rail travel, click here.
Image Credits – The Cool Bus at: [http://thecoolbus.co.uk/blog/our-transfers-electric/]
