China
Africa
Explore chapters and articles related to this topic
Public transport and the environment
Published in Corinne Mulley, John D. Nelson, Stephen Ison, The Routledge Handbook of Public Transport, 2021
Electric mobility has been a recent initiative in transport decarbonisation. Indeed, electrifying public transport fleets can offer potential carbon savings in public transport operations. Recently, there has been research exploring the relationship between electrified/hybrid public transport and carbon emissions. Sánchez et al. (2013) conducted a lifecycle assessment of different fuel types of buses, including fuel cell hybrid, hybrid-diesel-electric, battery electric and combustion ignition engine. The findings indicate that the fuel cell hybrid and battery electric buses can potentially reduce 26 and 28 percent of energy consumption, with an equivalent carbon reduction by 29 and 31 percent. Lajunen and Lipman (2016) investigated the lifecycle costs of CO2 emission of buses in two case scenarios of Finland and the United States and found that the energy efficiency of city buses can be improved by alternative powertrain technologies. When compared with traditional diesel buses, hybrid and full-electric buses can potentially reduce CO2 emission up to 75 percent (Lajunen & Lipman, 2016). Dreier et al. (2018) conducted a case study in the BRT system in Brazil. The findings indicate that the adoption of hybrid bus and plug-in hybrid city buses can reduce 30 and 75 percent of fuel energy per distance when compared to a traditional bus, which is equivalent to around 1.12 kg of CO2 well-to-wheel per kilometre (WTW/km) and 1.54 kg of CO2e WTW/km. Ribau et al. (2014) investigated the lifecycle impact difference between hybrid electric and plug-in hybrid electric cars. They suggest that fuel cell buses can reduce the overall energy consumption by 58 percent and produce a two-thirds decrease in the CO2 equivalent throughout the lifecycle.
Transitioning to zero-emission bus fleets: state of practice of implementations in the United States
Published in Transport Reviews, 2021
Aikaterini Deliali, Dany Chhan, Jennifer Oliver, Rassil Sayess, Krystal J. Godri Pollitt, Eleni Christofa
Battery electric buses have an onboard battery system that is operated using electric power. While this technology generates no tailpipe emissions, generation of the electricity used for battery charging is associated with atmospheric pollutant emissions (Lowe et al., 2009). Unlike diesel buses, battery electric buses have low energy consumption while idling in traffic and produce less noise. Additionally, they benefit from the regenerative braking energy captured due to stop-and-go driving, making them ideal for urban areas (Seki, Hendrickson, & Stine, 2016). Manufacturers report driving ranges of 148–530 km, depending on the charging type and energy storage options (New Flyer, 2017; Proterra, 2020a, 2020b).