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Energy
Mobility
Affordable And Clean Energy
Industry, Innovation And Infrastructure
Sustainable Cities And Communities
In Europe today, 25% of all greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are linked to transport, with buses contributing 8% to the overall emissions. Consequently, implementing transportation systems such as Electric Bus Systems offers a solution to decrease emissions while improving the quality of transportation and life (UITP, 2019).
Electric Bus System is a public transportation system that is operated by electric buses only. As every public transportation system, it can include ticketing, customer information, and a monitoring system. Additionally, it's essential to have facilities for charging the electric buses. Due to the charging process, a management system for operations, planning of range, and route optimisation becomes even more important compared to conventional bus systems (see also SCIS).
Problems to be solved
| Bad air quality | High Costs | Noise | Lack of Comfort |
In comparison to conventional engines, Electric Bus Systems are free of emissions locally. Moreover, less noise is produced when driving. While the initial costs for purchasing electric buses may be higher, the overall costs of Electric Bus Systems can be lower than the one of other systems depending on the usage.
The main goal of the Electric Bus System is to reduce the local air pollution within cities. Besides that, the solution achieves the benefits listed below. Whereas some benefits are likely to be fulfilled with a basic implementation of the solution, the fulfilment of the potential benefits depends on the functions implemented in a specific project.
Reducing use of fossils
Promoting sustainable behavior
Reducing GHG emissions
Reducing local air pollution
Promoting sustainable private transport models
Public transportation
Digital option for payment
Providing charging stations
Management to optime functionality
Communicate benefits and technology
Aside from bus systems that do not exclusively use electricity (hybrid systems), there are three main variants for Electric Bus Systems (powered by battery with night-charging, opportunity charging or buses with a fuel cell). Moreover, there can be further differentiation depending on the charging system (plug-in charging, docking), battery types (e.g., Lithium-Ion technology (LFP, NCM/NCA, Li-Titanate)), etc.
The battery of the bus is charged once a day – usually at night at charging stations in the depot. These buses are suitable for shorter daily distances (ca. 100-200km).
These buses have a smaller battery that is charged occasionally – mostly at the last stop of every route. They can be used on long daily distances (ca. 300km). Because of the charging process, they normally need longer at the last stop and require close substations. New technologies increase the efficiency of such charging processes, e.g. fast charging or recovery of break energy (e.g., 1MW chargers with 400kW chargers already in place).
The bus produces the energy for the electric propulsion with its own fuel cell and hydrogen that is carried in a tank. The system suits long daily distances. A hydrogen infrastructure is needed at the depot.
Additional infrastructure like charging stations or hydrogen infrastructure are needed depending on the variant implemented.
The efficiency and the necessity of Electric Bus Systems are linked to restrictions that are implemented on city or higher political level. Electric Bus Systems are expected to be supported by national and international policy and funding in future.
In general, regulations on emissions are introduced in the sector of buses first, before introducing the regulations for cars. Therefore, a diesel ban in urban areas is expected to be introduced for buses first.
The regulation (EU) 2019/1242 sets CO2 emission standards for heavy-duty vehicles. From 2025 on, manufacturers have to reduce emissions 15% compared to EU average in the reference period (1 July 2019- 30 June 2020). From 2030 onwards, there has to be a 30% reduction.
(electrive.net, 2020, Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, 2020, European Commission, 2020)
Stakeholders in electric bus systems (BABLE, 2021)
In 2019, there were about 3.000 electric buses in Europe and the United States, which only represents 1% of all buses. However, a rapid growth is predicted for the next years and is highly driven by legal regulations and government initiatives. Cities like Paris, Moscow or Berlin are planning to purchase hundreds of new electric buses in the upcoming years.
Global municipal e-bus fleet (Consultancy.eu & Bloomberg, 2020)
The number of electric buses in Germany since 2009 shows a huge development and forecasts predict a further rise in electric buses for the future.
Development of electric buses in Germany since 2009 (PwC, 2020)
High investment costs of electric buses in comparison to conventional (diesel) buses can be balanced with lower operational costs and longer lifespans (e.g. image Proterra). Some operators produce their own regenerative energy for the buses. The profitability of e-buses will increase as soon as there are stricter emission regulations or even diesel bans in urban areas. Restrictions are expected to be introduced in various European cities within the next few years.
The graph shows the profitability of the operation of electric buses in comparison to other buses over a lifetime of ten years. The data is obtained out of manufacturer specifications from Proterra, who - as of March 2017 - is one of three e-bus manufacturers providing buses on large scale. According to this calculation, electric buses are cheaper despite higher investment costs since costs for fuel and maintenance are much lower compared to traditional buses.
Comparison of total cost of ownership (Proterra, 2021)
This calculation does not include the infrastructure of charging stations needed which is often the actual challenge. Depending on the technology, the infrastructure can cost a multiple than the implementation costs of the buses. The tendering process should be suitable for an economic construction of the infrastructure. One solution could be that the municipality provides the infrastructure, and the bus operators provide only the buses.
Energy
Mobility
With the aim of having 100% of public transportation buses in Tartu run on biogas by 2019, the municipality purchased 60 new biogas buses for the public transportation network.
Mobility
Energy
The City of Turku has introduced new electric buses in the public transport fleet to reach the goal of becoming CO2 neutral by 2029.
Mobility
Energy
At least six new electric buses were introduced to Madrid’s existing bus fleet and are being tested in real-life conditions in the city’s living lab. The main goal is to use a clean bus fleet in areas which lack high-quality public transport services.
Mobility
ICT
Thanks to digitalisation and optimisation, a total of 14 accessible vehicles have been successfully operating between the Bonn, Darmstadt and Frankfurt sites. Since then, the company transport service has offered Telekom employees a flexible and sustainable alternative to a company car.
Mobility
Energy
This project was part of the Horizon2020 FABULOS project, where Auve Tech participated together with Mobile Civitatem Consortium. Despite the country's lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our autonomous, electric shuttles covered a total of 1,930km and served 399 end users.
Mobility
An autonomous, electric shuttle bus service connected the frequently visited Ülemiste City with the Tallinn International Airport and the Ülemiste shopping center, by extending the existing public transportation network.
Energy
Mobility
ICT
The bus charging system contains 5 pantograph fast chargers (350 kW) and 6 GB/T cable chargers (120 kW). Pohjolan Liikenne is oprating in the area with 20 electric buses and is charging those in the charging system. All the electricity is produced using renewable sources.
Vehicle sharing systems allow customers to use various vehicles without the need to own each vehicle. There are different types of vehicle sharing systems on the market. Differences can include the type of vehicle shared, like car sharing, bike sharing, scooter sharing or electric vehicle sharing.
The current EU regulation on emissions for cars is the strictest worldwide. Along with further restrictions the thresholds cannot be meet with conventional cars only anymore. One alternative technology, reducing the local emissions, are electric vehicles.
A bike sharing system intends to provide a community with a shared fleet of bikes. Therefore, individual users do not have to own a bike, but rather everyone can use the fleet flexibly.
Urban resilience is the ability of an urban system and all its constituents across temporal and spatial scales to maintain or rapidly return to desired functions in the face of a disturbance.
Mobility Hubs are places of connectivity where different modes of transportation - from walking to rapid transit – come together seamlessly.