By Courtesy of BVG / Andreas Süß
Berlin, London, Paris and Oslo: major European cities are committing to converting their bus fleets to electric power. Germany plans to have 8,500 electric buses in circulation by 2030. London is aiming for 100% zero-emission buses by 2034. But it is Oslo that is expected to be the first capital city with fully electric public transport.
Berlin, London, Paris and Oslo: major European cities are committing to converting their bus fleets to electric power. Germany plans to have 8,500 electric buses in circulation by 2030. London is aiming for 100% zero-emission buses by 2034. But it is Oslo that is expected to be the first capital city with fully electric public transport.
Some 8,500 electric buses are expected to be on the road in Germany by 2030, according to forecasts by PwC. This compares with 1,884 such vehicles on German roads at the end of 2022. In addition to fully electric buses, plug-in hybrid trolleybuses are also included.
Berlin and Hamburg are the two cities that have ordered the most electric buses. In Berlin alone, the entire BVG bus fleet is expected to be converted by 2030. PwC notes, however, that there is great disparity between the country's regions. Aside from Berlin, electric buses are particularly popular in Western German provinces.
More and more medium-sized cities are now also adopting electric buses, which are no longer the exclusive preserve of large metropolises. Still, there is a long way to go before decarbonization is truly a common concern.
Germany is obviously not the only country to actively embark on a green energy transition in public transport. This is also happening in the UK, where London has set a target of 100% zero-emission buses for the TfL network by 2034. Meanwhile, Coventry will become the first UK city to have a fully electric bus fleet by 2025.
In Paris, the Île-de-France Mobilités and RATP Bus2025 program plans to convert a majority of the bus fleet to electric and biomethane by 2025. By the end of 2024, 1,000 electric buses and 1,600 biomethane buses should be on the road in Paris and the surrounding suburbs.
When it comes to shining examples, Oslo aims to become the first capital city in the world to have fully electric public transport, with zero CO2 emissions, by the end of 2023. The aim is to offer users and residents of the city a much better quality of life, with less pollution and less noise, without compromising comfort.
