Electric Buses: Zero Emissions in the Cities

This advantage does not comfort the residents of major cities, though, with thousands of buses running in tight time schedules every day. In addition to exhaust emissions, noise is another problem. To reduce both, many cities are already using electric buses. China was the first and most consistent country to electrify its bus fleet. The southern Chinese coastal metropolis of Shenzhen with a population of 12 million citizens is a good example. Between 2009 and 2017, the city changed over to electric buses. Today, 17,000 battery-electric buses drive through Shenzhen; bus operation is 100 percent electric.

Other regions are catching up. It is primarily megacities and their initiatives that are keeping the trend toward electric buses on a stable level. In Europe, London and Moscow are the leaders with their low-emission bus fleets. While the 500 electric buses in Moscow also include trolleybuses, London relies on electrified double-deckers from different manufacturers. In addition to more than 300 purely electric buses, there are also 3,800 hybrid buses and ten fuel cell vehicles. London's mayor Sadiq Khan intends to significantly increase the share of zero-emission vehicles in the near future.

The use of electric buses is accompanied by a perfect harmonization of the timetable with the available charging infrastructure. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has just decided upon a package worth 3 billion pounds to improve the bus infrastructure, cheapen fares and purchase 4,000 new electric buses.

Indeed, government regulations, local emission reduction initiatives and subsidies are key drivers for the triumph of electric buses. Public transport systems are not only supposed to contribute to meeting the Paris Climate Agreement targets and reducing CO₂ emissions – cities also want to reduce noise and improve air quality. China has demonstrated that financial incentives by the government can be a powerful tool. Electromobility – even if it affects public transport – is primarily about achieving a critical mass from which development becomes irreversible. With the European Green Deal and the pricing of CO₂ emissions, the EU has paved the way for more sustainability. The EU also sees procurement for public transport as an effective tool and therefore defines quotas: With immediate effect, according to the Clean Vehicles Directive, contracting authorities shall order at least 45 percent of vehicles with clean drives when ordering new buses, half of which shall be emission-free – i.e. purely electric. From 2025, the share of clean drives is expected to increase to 65 percent of new purchases. "Clean" also refers to buses with a plug-in hybrid drive as well as buses that are mainly powered by hydrogen, natural gas, synthetic fuels or bio-fuels.

The industry service Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) is forecasting a huge global increase in electric buses for the next two decades. Subsequently, the share of battery-electric buses in public transport will increase to almost 70 percent by 2040. The procurement of electric buses is backed by massive investments in urban charging infrastructure.