Skip to main content

Electric buses can ‘save millions’ for society and the environment

A city with half a million inhabitants would save about US$11.8 million per year if its buses ran on electricity instead of diesel, according to analysis conducted the Volvo Group and audit and advisory firm KPMG. The analysis has taken into consideration such factors as noise, travel time, emissions, energy use, taxes and the use of natural resources. The analysis was based on a city with about half a million inhabitants and 400 buses. If the buses were run on electricity instead of diesel, the total an
September 29, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
A city with half a million inhabitants would save about US$11.8 million per year if its buses ran on electricity instead of diesel, according to analysis conducted the 609 Volvo Group and audit and advisory firm 1981 KPMG. The analysis has taken into consideration such factors as noise, travel time, emissions, energy use, taxes and the use of natural resources.

The analysis was based on a city with about half a million inhabitants and 400 buses. If the buses were run on electricity instead of diesel, the total annualised societal saving would be about US$11.8 million. Among other areas, the savings stem from reduced noise and air pollution, which is estimated to lead to decreased care costs of up to US$2.8 million. The annual reduction in carbon dioxide emissions would total 33,000 tons, corresponding to about 3,000 Swedish households.

“Standard investment appraisals do not take into account all of the costs that impact society and the environment. Therefore, to quantify all of the aspects, we have now calculated the monetary value of an electric bus line,” says Niklas Gustafsson, head of Sustainability at the Volvo Group. “The results show that irrespective of the number of parameters taken into consideration, electric buses comprise the leading public transport solution.”

“Electric buses are an excellent example of an innovation that can create substantial societal values,” says Daniel Dellham, KPMG. “By supplementing standard financial analysis with socioeconomic and environmental factors, one arrives at a more complete picture of the investment’s impact on companies and society.”

In June 2015, a new electric bus line was opened in Gothenburg with the aim of developing and testing new solutions for sustainable public transport in partnership with the Volvo Group and several partners from industry, research and society.

“The bus line is one of the most modern in the world and interest is incredibly high, not least due to the buses being completely silent and emission-free, and being run on electricity from wind and hydro power,” says Niklas Gustafsson. “But the innovation aspect primarily pertains to the complete transportation system. A system that we can now show meets society’s socioeconomic and environmental challenges.”

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Considering accessibility costs little and pays dividends for all travellers
    August 8, 2017
    Catering for those with disabilities can be cost-effective and improve services for all travellers, as David Crawford discovers. Clearer understanding of the economic value of accessible transport is essential if we are to speed up the current slow deployment levels, according to the Paris-based International Transport Forum (ITF), which staged a 2016 round table on the ‘Benefits and Costs of Inclusion in Transport’. It wants to see greater availability of data on levels of actual and unmet demand for acces
  • NYSERDA, NYSDOT to fund fossil fuel-reducing transport projects
    July 12, 2013
    The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) have partnered to provide funding to eleven businesses, non-profit organisations and research institutions to promote energy-saving technologies designed to reduce carbon-dioxide emissions in New York State.
  • Rio’s TMC rises to Olympic challenge
    October 27, 2016
    Timothy Compston lifts the lid on Rio de Janeiro’s preparations for keeping its transport systems moving during the Olympics – and the outcome. Hosting the Olympics poses major traffic management challenges for any city and Rio was no exception – especially as it is already one of the world’s most congested cities. Beyond its normal 6.5 million inhabitants wanting to carry on their daily lives, in August Rio was also home to 11,300 athletes from 206 countries. Athletes who, without fail, had to reach their
  • Tamil Nadu to spend US$100 million on bus transport
    March 23, 2012
    The Tamil Nadu government in India intends to replace buses that have reached more than 700,000 kilometres in mileage or those that are more than six years old. The state government will spend US$82 million to buy 3,000 new buses, with the first phase involving the purchase of 520 new buses. Tamil Nadu government also plans to repair 1,432 buses, which will involve an additional investment of US$18 million.