All wheels turn silently when the EU wants it. From 2030, nine out of ten buses in the European Union will be emission-free, and five years later this will apply to all new vehicles. Since 2021, a procurement directive has also been in force that provides for minimum quotas for zero-emission vehicles. Since CO2 emissions for large buses, like private cars, are measured by the exhaust, the only option for the country’s transport companies is to order the majority of new vehicles with electric drives.
The low-vibration ride is an advantage for passengers, and residents in residential areas should also be happy. The climate effect, however, is likely to be low, as is the effect on air quality, because diesel engines are cleaner than ever. Only the managing directors of the transport companies are sweating, because purchasing an 18-meter articulated bus is more than one million euros, about two and a half times more expensive than buying a comparable diesel bus. It is questionable whether the additional cost will ever be amortized; at least the hope of lower maintenance costs has not yet come true, according to a workshop manager, and in the long term the driver’s wages are more important than the energy costs. It is also uncertain how the batteries will perform over the long service life – there is talk of 14 years – and operational processes and infrastructure will also have to be adapted to the young technology. The subsidies that flowed from Berlin last year will no longer apply in the future.
And now? From a commercial perspective, there are only two solutions: Either the transport companies thin out the service, fewer buses, fewer drivers, lower costs. Or they increase ticket prices. But they are not allowed to do that either, because the Germany ticket costs the politically set 49 euros. So don’t be surprised if the bus runs less frequently in the future.