With every passing year, more and more attention is being paid to challenges related to air quality in cities. Authorities of many conurbations declare intentions of limiting pollutant emissions, among others through the creation of appealing alternatives to individual transport. One of the options available in this regard are electric buses: they do not produce exhaust emissions, use less energy and considerably improve travel comfort, which is why this technology is winning advocates in many cities. Therefore, in 2017, the European Commission launched the “Clean Bus Deployment Initiative” project – a declaration of intent on promoting large-scale deployment of clean, alternatively fuelled buses.
„The Clean Bus Europe Platform is a true tipping point to boost the market uptake of clean bus technologies with concrete actions supporting authorities and operators in the deployment process.”
Umberto Guida
Senior Director Knowledge & Innovation, UITP
Thanks to such bold decisions, quiet and ecological electric buses are becoming an important part of transport systems in many agglomerations across Europe, thus becoming a real cityscape fixture. For instance, London City Hall decided to stop buying conventionally powered buses starting from 2018. What is more, authorities announced that as of 2037 the whole city’s fleet, currently amounting to over 9,000 vehicles, is to be emission-free. Hamburg has a similar approach, having committed to buying exclusively electric buses, starting from 2020. Berlin, Brussels or even Milan, too, plan to replace their fleets with zero-emission vehicles.
The initiative was signed and implemented not only by cities, but also the producers and industry organizations from all over Europe and beyond. The current list of signatories:
CITIES AND REGIONS
PRODUCERS
ORGANIZATIONS
The Clean Bus Europe Platform is an initiative under the European Commission’s Clean Bus Deployment Initiative that aims to support the deployment of clean bus technologies across Europe. The Platform brings together European cities, transport authorities and operators, together with relevant stakeholders like social dialogue partners, industry, financing and funding institutions, associations, etc. to boost and support the exchange of knowledge and expertise on clean bus deployment.
After more than 45 years, trolleybuses have returned to Prague – this time as part of a long-term strategy to electrify the city’s bus network. Modern vehicles using In Motion Charging technology have increased capacity on key routes, reduced emissions, and demonstrated strong operational reliability.
ISO 15118 is a common language for information exchange between an electric vehicle and a charging station, streamlining communication.
Before the Summit in Hamburg begins, it is worth taking a closer look at what UITP is.
