Why the clean bus is here to stay

By Flavio Grazian, eBRT2030 Project Manager, Knowledge and Innovation at UITP.

With less than three months to go until the UITP Global Public Transport Summit in Barcelona, the final pieces of the programme are being put together as we speak.

One of the public transport fundamentals that has been adorning the UITP Global Summit agenda for a long time is the electrification of urban mobility, and in particular of buses.

Over the past decade, we have witnessed impressive developments in the field of clean bus technology. More than ever, we see not only the will, but also the actions from operators and cities to meet their transport emissions reduction targets.

These targets on air pollution and noise levels, combined with support schemes at regional, national and EU level, have resulted in clean buses being a stable – and in some cities even dominating – presence on our streets.

eBRT2030: a milestone in electric mobility

As impressive as this transition has been, we must not forget that more still needs to be done. The “terrible four” challenges: climate change, air pollution, congestion, and noise, are an ever-present concern.

Our ambitious climate objectives require a more efficient mobility system, relying on strong public transport that will push people out of their cars and onto more sustainable modes. At the same time, mobility should always have passengers’ needs on its own agenda, for example, when it comes to efficiency and comfort.

In February of this year, UITP was proud to launch a new project that ticks all these boxes.

Funded under the EU’s Horizon Europe programme, the eBRT2030 project brings together 45 partners from the public transport sector, to support sustainable urban transport by proposing innovative solutions for electric Bus Rapid Transit (BRT).

BRT, which emerged in Latin America as an innovation that could transform cities and the way people move, is one of the biggest innovations the bus domain has ever seen. A good BRT system can truly transform an entire city in terms of congestion and pollution and therefore improve the daily life of citizens.

UITP will coordinate the eBRT2030 project for four years, taking an important  step to demonstrate the applicability of a new generation of eBRT systems, more tailored for European cities and advanced with new automation and connectivity functionalities.

eBRT2030 will create the next generation, future-proof European Bus Rapid Transit, ultimately improving the performance of the whole European urban bus system and making a massive leap in the transition towards zero emission sustainable transport.

The Clean Bus Europe Platform

For eBRT2030 to succeed, it will prove essential to gather around the table all public transport and clean mobility stakeholders: operators, manufacturers, technology providers, academia, associations, energy companies and others.

As UITP, we are proud to facilitate this, helping partners to merge their forces to design the future of mobility.

It is what we have been doing long before eBRT2030, also in other bus projects. A prime example is the Clean Bus Europe Platform (CBEP).

This project under the European Commission’s Clean Bus Deployment Initiative, links together EU cities, transport authorities and operators, together with relevant stakeholders like social dialogue partners and industry to boost knowledge exchange on clean bus deployment.

Through study tours and many more activities, the CBEP has for the last four years been a pragmatic enabler of connecting cities wanting to deploy clean bus tech, with those already more advanced.

Both the eBRT2030 project and the Clean Bus Europe Platform will be highlighted at the UITP Global Summit.

While eBRT2030 will share how its demos will transform seven cities across the world, the CBEP will host its final event, showing the sector the concrete steps it has taken towards a greener planet.

Their sessions will be held alongside a wide array of other conference sessions, side-events, technical visits, workshops and more, bringing together those with a vested interest in sustainable urban mobility.

Stay tuned for more info on both projects! In the meantime, keep an eye on www.uitpsummit.org to get ready for Barcelona.