The underrated solution to Europes green mobility issues? Public transport

By Michael Colijn, CEO of Heliox

As far back as the 1800s, the first electric vehicles plied on European and American roads when innovators in Hungary, the Netherlands and the United States, including a blacksmith from Vermont, toyed with the concept of a battery-powered vehicle. 200 years later, the conversation re-visits EVs, and in a technological leap ahead, brings into sharp focus public transport and medium to heavvy duty vehicles. All with one potential goal in mind – net-zero emissions in compliance with climate goals.

It’s become critical that all nations are placing their utmost focus on their respective climate goals. We are missing the 1.5°C mark at which the more visible impact of climate change begisn to kick in and are now heading to a 2°C- 2.4°C rise if change comes in now. This change has to come at a collective level. The mobility sector was one of the sectors most affected by COVID-19, with a huge drop in mobility behavior due to travel bans, lockdowns, and a reduced need to be mobile.

But it’s only bought us a bit of time. As the world begins to “resume” and gain momentum, climate goals are beginning to take a setback.

Though electric cars are leading this charge, governments and city planners can go one step further by electrifying their public transport. 72% of all transport GHG emission in the EU comes from road transport, signalling a need for less harmful vehicles. Despite a large portion of this coming from personal vehicles (61%), buses and heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) emit a heavy 27% as well. Not to mention that the Clean Vehicles Directive are pushing for a third of all newly produced buses to be emission free by 2030.

EU nations who have recognised the silent impact of public transport are now feeling the benefits. According to Heliox’s new report, ranking the top EU nations with the greenest transport, The Netherlands and Luxembourg are closer to meeting their net-zero goals thanks to the successful electrification of its public transport services.

With Europe’s hopes of being a leading continent in carbon neutrality, we need to see more multifaceted approaches such as theirs. This starts with the public transport sector.

E-cars primed consumers for e-buses

As more and more drivers make the switch to EVs, the idea of alternative fueled vehicles are becoming normalised. Because of this shift in behaviour, we can expect to see charging stations dotted across EU cities, laying the groundwork for e-bus adoption.

The report shows that The Netherlands has 93,110 charging points, one of the highest EV charging densities the continent has seen. This is one of the driving factors behind their high ranking in the EU’s greenest countries. Similarly, we see smaller nations such as Luxembourg and Sweden rank highly because of the appropriate ratio between their population and charging availability. This is where larger nations such as The United Kingdom (UK) and France fall behind, with their charging infrastructure not developing at the same rate as the demand for EVs.

Those who are matching the demand for EVs also have the highest number of electric buses and HGVS. Why? Because existing charging infrastructure reduces the cost of implementation. This push for charging availability demonstrates how electric cars are facilitating the move towards electric public transport.

For example, the UK – who have around 79,000 buses – has only electrified 9% of its fleet. This comes down to the lack of charging infrastructure available needed for fleets to charge. However, nations such as The Netherlands – who only have 9,700 buses – are able to electrify 15% of its fleet because of the widespread charging infrastructure. By having nearly double the amount of EV chargers in comparison to the UK, The Netherlands can meet the surging demand for electric vehicles as well as support the transition of public transport to e-buses.

E-buses, the poster child for alternative transport / Shared mobility means reduced GHG

E-buses will enable travel alternatives because of the increased efficiency and reduced impact. According to the report, countries who have more e-buses are reducing more GHG emissions as the amount of GHG produced by transport is shared rather than produced individually.

This is why shared mobility is crucial and on the rise. E-buses lead this trend with a predicted 18% increase per year in Europe. But for this to happen, alternative transport methods become the priority. Implementing infrastructure-solutions like bus rapid-transit lanes, EV charging depots, segregated cycle lanes and expanded sidewalks would increase travel convenience and efficiency. It also means time spent in congested areas is reduced.

Congestion is another strong reason for shared mobility and alternative transportation. In the UK, the average amount of GHG produced in traffic delays is over 10,000 kg of carbon emissions per vehicle. In congested cities such as London, we see that number increase by 508% higher than the national average. Because buses are also shown to have a smaller carbon footprint than personal cars, shared mobility would result in reduced GHG emissions. By reducing congestion using public transport, fumes exhausted during traffic delays become reduced.

Nations such as The Netherlands who are amplifying its transport methods will see others follow suit. Shared mobility, powered by public transportation, ignites this spark and will evolve national capitals to become smarter.

Green public transport makes cities smarter

Public transport must continue to be the backbone of urban transportation and it can. Though electric cars are leading the charge, e-buses can help make cities smarter and relieve pressure from nations’ grids.

In the UK, 1.95M EV’s were added last year but with only 29,000 chargers across the nation there is a clear energy disparity. This strain on the power grid will result in price spikes, power outages and decreased EV mobility. However, the growth of charging infrastructure accompanying the continental push for e-buses will see the opportunity for smart energy management to be implemented and relieve stress from the grid.

City planners will be able to create effective systems with smart energy management technology starting with V2G (vehicle-to-grid) and evolving to V2X (vehicle-to-anything).

Vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology, an advanced form of smart charging technology, is considered a practical solution to energy management as it will support EVs that effectively put energy back into the grid. A sustainable move like this not only allows consumers to increase their energy resillience but also reduces their reliance on the grid. But in order to do so, the apporpriate charging infrastructure has to be in place. Without rural charging stations available, we can’t meet the new standard that smart energy management can offer.

Where the infrastructure cannot be economically upgraded, battery energy storage systems can be used to supplement the power needed to charge. This is an initiative nations who have a low number of charging stations per 100 km could use to support their grid and boost their green transport ranking. This would be applicable to Lithuania, Cyprus and Greece because they have some of the lowest charger densities amongst the EU.

Public transportation is the key to this electrified future but in order to do so, achieving green mobility must be on the national agenda. Nations such as The Netherlands, Sweden and Luxembourg who are showing public transport as much attention as electric cars are on the road to net neutrality. To follow in their footsteps, EU heavyweights need to expand their infrastructure and facilitate a multi-faceted approach to achieving net-zero goals. There must be similar action or they risk falling miles behind others.