In the five-point action plan, the 3iBS partners call on European institutions to include public transport in all European CO2 reduction strategies, and to request cities set targets to boost the market share of this particular transport sector by 2025. ‘Given that air, car, or rail-related issues are predominant, there needs to be a Europe-wide campaign to re-dignify the bus as a clean and cost-efficient tool for meeting the growing mobility requirements of European cities and regions.’
The plan suggests financial mechanisms should be introduced to accelerate fleet modernisation, ‘an instant way of reducing CO2 emissions as almost 50% of buses in Europe are Euro 3 or older’ (3iBS data). Demonstrating the benefits that can be gained, in 2009 Consorcio Regional de Transportes de Madrid (CRTM) launched an ambitious plan to modernise its surburban fleet of around 2,000 buses. In five years, over 900 Euro 1 and 2 buses have been scrapped in favour of cleaner technologies – mainly Euro 5 and 6 – but also CNG (compressed natural gas) and electric hybrids.
The resulting, overall impact on the emissions generated by the fleet are estimated (by CRTM) as follows:
- 30.4% less carbon monoxide
- 29.8% less non-methane hydrocarbons
- 40.7% less nitrogen oxides
- 57.7% less particulate matter, and
- 0.3% less C02
Modernising the bus system should also positively impact other related elements, namely infrastructure – more dedicated lines and latest technology traffic management systems – and operations – remote/predictive maintenance and automation. Furthermore, the use of standard IT architecture on vehicles would help reduce the efforts and costs involved in installing, maintaining, replacing, and upgrading IT systems.
3iBS also calls for additional resources for the further testing and uptake of alternatively fuelled buses and infrastructure.
Finally, the plan suggests a genuine long-term strategy should be established to boost research into bus systems. ‘Hence the European bus industry will be able to maintain its international leadership, while continuously working to make the bus a more attractive mode of transport.’
3iBS facts & figures
Duration: October 2012 to March 2015
Coordinator: UITP
Budget: €3.36 million (€2.97m co-funded by the European Commission under the 7th Framework Programme for Research & Technological Development)
Consortium: ASSTRA, atac Roma, Chalmers, Consorcio Regional de Transportes de Madrid (CRTM), D’Appolonia, Fraunhofer, digimobee, Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB), UITP, Volvo
Going forward
“Improvement of public transport requires an excellent bus service to trigger a modal shift towards both this offer and combined mobility modes,” says Umberto Guida, EU projects director, UITP. “EU-funded projects and EIB [European Investment Bank] financial tools are needed to further support our cities in boosting their bus systems.”
Now 3iBS has wrapped up, the next step will be a worldwide compilation of research. “In 2020, we’re going to bring together all the findings – from the EBSF [European Bus System of the Future, see below], from other European actions, as well as from projects outside Europe. There is a lot of work going on in South America, for example,” says Mr Guida. In this wider context, 3iBS marks a halfway point between the EBSF and the big things in store for 2020. The specificity of the initiative having been “to close the loop, to match practices,” explains the director, adding that “EBSF paved the way.”
Thus 3iBS has picked up the baton to focus on defining the roadmap and facilitating the exchange of experience. It has served as an opportunity to exploit the results of the EBSF, to explain to different stakeholders how they can best put them into practice, and to show them which results are best for immediate use.
Green light for EBSF_2
EBSF_2 was launched at the UITP World Congress and Exhibition this June. Co-founded by the European Commission under its Horizon 2020 Work Programme, this follow-up enterprise will test and evaluate a set of technological solutions for improving the efficiency of urban and suburban bus systems, as well as their attractiveness to passengers. Watch this space…
Rose Creasy
European Bus System of the Future (EBSF)
September 2008–October 2012
400 European experts, bus builders and equipment suppliersn backed by the European Commission and led by the UITP
Eleven countries, 47 partners, and €26 million of funding
Two core objectives:
to conceive and develop an innovative and high-quality bus system, which is fully integrated within the urban environment, and demonstrates the full potential of a new generation of urban bus networks;
to devise breakthrough designs for vehicles, infrastructure, and operations