Electrification is the next big challenge for the public transportation industry if we want to save the climate, while reducing noise and improving air quality in cities. In order to meet Sweden’s climate goals, emissions from domestic land and sea transport must be reduced by at least 70 percent by 2030 by 2010. At today’s rate, the goal is far away. Here is Transdev Sweden’s proposal to speed up the electrification of public transportation.
Those who take the car to work emit 45,000 times more carbon dioxide than those who take the tram, subway or train. Just over 85 percent of bus traffic in Sweden runs on renewable fuels. In other words, public transport is an important enabler for us to achieve the climate goals, but now it faces a major challenge: zero emissions through electrification.
The climate crisis is the biggest challenge of our time and we at Transdev want to be part of the solution. The best we can do for the environment is to create an attractive and energy-efficient public transport with a focus on the customer needs, so more people choose to travel together. Electrification is part of this work.
Eva Tiséus, Marketing and Communications Director at Transdev Sweden
Some challenges along the way
Technology has come a long way and more and more electric buses and electric ships are visible on our streets and on the water. In March 2020, our electric hybrid ferry Rex started running between Stockholm and Ekerö and in December 2020, we launched the Nordic region’s largest electric bus fleet in Gothenburg with 145 electric buses. But electric buses and electric ships are still expensive and require large investments.
On average, an electric bus costs two to three times more than a regular diesel bus. In addition, energy taxation is not always designed in a way that drives development in the right direction. Trains, subways and trams are today exempt from carbon dioxide and energy taxes, but not electric buses. Even more paradoxical is that fossil fuels used for passenger traffic at sea are also exempt from carbon dioxide and energy tax but not electricity, which means that in theory it pays to run ships on diesel.
Eva Tiséus.
Another challenge is the infrastructure and electricity network effect, which are not always in place when new electric bus fleets or electric vessels are to be put into service, and which involve several different actors. The energy companies offer electricity, the municipalities usually own the land, the regional public transport authorities are responsible for the traffic and the operators drive the vehicles and carry out the electrification project.
It requires good cooperation between all parties involved and a clear division of responsibilities for such electrification projects to be carried out in port with a well-initiated spider in the network that leads the project.
Eva Tiséus
Last but not least, the procurement processes and contract models in the industry are not always adapted to the new needs. Electric buses are more expensive to procure than conventional buses, but on the other hand have lower operating costs and longer service life. The agreements must take better account of such aspects in order for the potential that exists in electrification to be fully utilized.
Transdev Sweden’s proposal
Last week, the Swedish Government presented its budget bill for 2022. In addition to investments in biogas, faster and more efficient permit processes for the expansion of electricity networks, and a strengthening of Klimatklivet (a comprehensive environmental initiative supporting local climate projects), the Government proposes that the electric bus premium be strengthened by SEK 1.1 billion in 2022, which we at Transdev Sweden welcome.
All these proposals are very important for us to be able to accelerate the electrification of public transport and they will have a positive effect on the industry. At the same time, now that the restrictions ease, we need to get our travelers to return and more people to choose public transport for a future sustainable society. We will therefore need more policy measures that promote electrified and attractive public transport.
Eva Tiséus
1. Extend the electric bus premium and introduce the electric ship premium: An extension of the electric bus premium, which is now being phased out progressively, would guarantee that the electrification of road-borne public transport does not stop. To also introduce a premium that includes new electric vessels, and old vessels that are converted to electricity, which are used for passenger traffic, would speed up electrification at sea – which today is unfortunately lagging behind in development.
2. Review energy taxation: To implement an equivalent energy taxation for electric public transport, which for rail-based traffic would create the right incentives and accelerate electrification.
3. Develop industry standards for shipping: More collaborative structures with different industry players must be launched to find new ways of working, create understanding between the players involved and build common standards for the shipping industry. Collaborations such as ElectriCity in Gothenburg, where industry, research and society develop and test solutions for tomorrow’s electrified transports, are crucial for developing standards and accelerating electrification at sea.
4. Extend the electric bus premium and introduce the electric ship premium: An extension of the electric bus premium, which is now being phased out progressively, would guarantee that the electrification of road-borne public transport does not stop. To also introduce a premium that includes new electric vessels, and old vessels that are converted to electricity, which are used for passenger traffic, would speed up electrification at sea – which today is unfortunately lagging behind in development.
5. Review energy taxation: To implement an equivalent energy taxation for electric public transport, which for rail-based traffic would create the right incentives and accelerate electrification.
6. Develop industry standards for shipping: More collaborative structures with different industry players must be launched to find new ways of working, create understanding between the players involved and build common standards for the shipping industry. Collaborations such as ElectriCity in Gothenburg, where industry, research and society develop and test solutions for tomorrow’s electrified transports, are crucial for developing standards and accelerating electrification at sea.
7. Adapt the procurement process and the contract models: By creating the right conditions in the contract models, maximizing the use of the electric buses and taking the life cycle of the vehicles into account, we can create both economic and environmental sustainability.
8. Future-proof electricity grid and network capacity: In order for the electrification of both light and heavy means of transport to continue, and increase, the government must support the expansion of the infrastructure needed for electric vehicles. The electricity produced must be green and, in collaboration with the local actors, delivered to the whole of Sweden. Every transport authority should have a clear strategy for the electrification of public transport and the expansion of charging infrastructure.