Skip to main content

The bus future is electric, says UITP

More and more cities in Europe and around the world are turning to electric buses (or e-buses) in an effort to go green according to UITP’s new ZeEUS eBus Report. The report, published as part of the Zero Emission Urban Bus System project, reveals that 19 public transport operators and authorities, covering around 25 European cities, have a published e-bus strategy for 2020. By this date, there should be more than 2,500 electric buses operating in these cities, representing six per cent of their total fl
January 11, 2017 Read time: 3 mins
More and more cities in Europe and around the world are turning to electric buses (or e-buses) in an effort to go green according to UITP’s new ZeEUS eBus Report.

The report, published as part of the Zero Emission Urban Bus System project, reveals that 19 public transport operators and authorities, covering around 25 European cities, have a published e-bus strategy for 2020. By this date, there should be more than 2,500 electric buses operating in these cities, representing six per cent of their total fleet of 40,000.

Meanwhile, more than 13 public transport operators and authorities in a further 18 European cities have a strategy up to 2025; by then, they are expected to have more than 6,100 electric buses in service, representing 43 per cent of their total fleet of 14,000.

The report also includes a market analysis conducted among bus manufacturers, which indicates that a European series production of electric buses should reach full maturity by 2018-2020. These developments all bode well for the uptake of fully electric buses in the near future, since demand and supply are now beginning to converge.

The report gives an overview of the electric buses in operation in Europe today, along with the different solutions available on the market, featuring 61 cities around Europe that operate or test high capacity e-buses (at least 12m long or with capacity for at least 55 passengers). The publication also lists 27 manufacturers that offer this type of vehicles for the European market.

A wide range of technological solutions exist for the electrification of public transport, but every choice is dependent on the local situation and can result in a different total cost of ownership and the report offers an overview of experiences from various cities regarding the feasibility of implementing e-buses.

Looking wider afield, the report estimates the worldwide e-bus fleet to have reached approximately 173,000 in 2015. China is leading this global mass deployment, with more than 98.3 per cent of the global total (170,000 buses) operating in cities including Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen. These developments are strongly endorsed by Chinese government policy, which includes a ‘new energy buses’ programme, aiming to produce 1.67m electric vehicles (including e-buses), and to create 1.2m jobs annually from 2010-2020.

In terms of scale, Europe follows Asia with over 1,300 electric buses delivered or on order. This figure includes battery buses (overnight and opportunity charged), plug-in hybrid buses and trolleybuses with batteries for off-wire operation. The greatest number of electric buses of the above types can be seen in the United Kingdom, with over 18 per cent of the total European fleet, followed by the Netherlands, Switzerland, Poland and Germany, with around ten per cent each.

Related Content

  • Priority boosts ridership and cuts congestion
    May 4, 2016
    Transit priority is proving a win-win in Europe and Australia. David Crawford reports. Technology that integrates with the Australian-originated Sydney Coordinated Adaptive Traffic System (SCATS) is driving bus signal priority and performance analysis initiatives on both sides of the world; in its homeland, with a major deployment in 2015, and in the capital of the Republic of Ireland.
  • ITS homes in on cycling safety
    April 9, 2014
    A new generation of ITS equipment is helping road authorities get to grips with cycle safety – and not a moment too soon as Colin Sowman discovers. Cyclists - remember them? Apparently not. At least not according to the OECD 2013 report Cycling, Health and Safety which contains the statement: ‘Cyclists are often forgotten in the design of the road traffic system’. Looking through the statistics that exist (each country appears to compile them differently) it is not difficult to see how such a conclusion cou
  • European Truck Platooning Challenge gets under way
    April 6, 2016
    Something huge in the field of connected vehicle technology and automated driving, which is grabbing headlines around the world, will arrive here at Intertraffic Amsterdam later today. Dirk-Jan de Bruijn, programme director of the European Truck Platooning Challenge 2016, sets the scene and looks to the future.
  • VW presents electric mobility research
    April 23, 2012
    Volkswagen, in cooperation with six project partners and the German Ministry of the Environment, is presenting the current status of the ‘Fleet study in electric mobility’ that was initiated in July 2008. The primary goal of the project, which runs until June 2012, is to consistently utilise renewable energy sources for electrically powered vehicles. Within the framework of the fleet study, Volkswagen is using a total of 20 of the latest generation Golf Variant TwinDrive cars as research vehicles.