The urban planning of cities is changing in the direction to respect the environment more (It is no longer about will, is necessity). However, if you stop for a moment to observe public transport, actually, you will see that there are very few electric buses Where is the sustainable transport ?.
To give an example, if we look at the capital of Spain, Madrid. It currently has a fleet of about 2,221 buses. public (Including Mobility Aid and Auxiliary Fleet) and according to the website of the EMT (Municipal Transport Company) only the year past they had 1.76% fully electric buses.
Okay, and for the 2020, the EMT expects to put a mobile park of almost 100 fully electric units. Come on!... It will not reach 5% of the fleet. And that we are talking about the capital of Spain Imagine yourself in other smaller cities!
If we stop to think a bit, transportation is responsible for about a quarter of the global emissions. Although public buses are only one small part of the world fleet of vehicles, the problem The main thing is that they operate where people are concentrated, so that we swallow its effects more.
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If we look a bit at the numbers for Europe and compare, We have the following graph that we already discussed in the article on China and Public Transport. Remember, every five weeks, Chinese cities add more than 9,000 buses public electric zero emissions.
As we see in the graph, other European countries are not very buoyant in using public transport 100% electric.
And if we do a global count, today, about 17 percent of the world's buses are electric, around 425,000 buses, where almost 99% of the world's electric buses are in China (There is a law that requires the use of electric buses, and we already know how China legislates)
If a report was recently published from World Resources Institute which discusses how to manage and enable the adoption of electric buses in cities around the world from HERE. We can know, know and what steps to follow from how we should begin to implement an electric bus structure.
And if in addition, the electric buses (Also called e-buses ) are better for the environment and our health, if they emit less noise and vibrations, and also have lower operating costs (Aerodynamic electric motors, they are easier to maintain)… Why don't we have more electric buses In our city? And why aren't they in all parts?
Sometimes, things are not so simple. and we wanted to review some issues that go beyond the simple action of buy an electric bus:
All cities are not flat from one perspective topography, and it has already been shown that when we have a slope or hills, the electric bus has serious problems in go up when they have full passenger loads.
Not all automotive companies build buses electrical. Here, two main problems appear; he supply of new buses is lengthening and the price is more high by having fewer competitors in the market.
3.- The need to recharge Approximately and, taking into account the climatic conditions, topography and routes, on average, have to be recharged once a day. In some places, this is a problem.
We can buy many buses, but you have to have a network prepared and charging points (A standard charging station costs between €45,000 and €50,000)
Incorporate a network of electric buses in a city it also means "doubling down" the internal infrastructure that manages the public transport agency (Two types of fuel, increase electrical installations and their points recharging, specialized mechanics, signage, etc)
Someone once said that "silent vehicles, issues". It is necessary to adapt part of the signage, need spaces for recharging points, assess new costs, etc…
We have seen the possible problems, now it is time to see the advantages of having an electric network of electric buses in the cities.
The energy losses of the electric motor are significantly lower than the energy losses of the diesel engine, so the cost per kilometer of travel is close one-third the cost of a journey on a diesel bus.
The electric bus is much quieter than a bus diesel, giving travelers a more pleasant experience and significantly reducing environmental noise and vibrations. They will have to make noise, but they will be able to do it in their fair measure.
Although in a first phase this community law (New regulations set by the European Union (EU) will only affect to newly approved vehicles, both passenger cars and commercial), the regulations stipulate that from 1 July 2021 will be mandatory for all vehicles electric and hybrid vehicles marketed in Europe.
The cost of electric bus fuel (electricity) in the long run is much cheaper than diesel (must take into account market fluctuations dependent on oil).
In addition, several cases have already appeared where they have occurred natural disasters of significant magnitude where they have had difficulties in the supply of fossil fuels (problems in refinery supplies), but, nevertheless, the Power supply has been restored with much more speed.
Electric buses combine a braking system regenerative that generates electricity during the process of braking.
The health hazards of diesel buses (the technology that is currently used for the vast majority of buses) are well known among the professionals of the health. In addition, buses tend to be used in environments urban areas where there are concentrations of people and the quality of the air is already degraded by other pollutants.
Diesel, which is a known carcinogen, can also cause respiratory diseases such as asthma. Those who use public transportation more frequently, including children, the elderly and those without access to a car, are especially at risk.
Transportation is responsible for about a quarter of share of global emissions, and those emissions are growing faster than in any other sector. Although the buses are only a small portion of the world fleet of vehicles, have a colossal effect on the environment atmosphere.
It is evident that we have many obstacles to implement a electric public transport system and that we must be aware of this, but, today, and seeing that the cities are increasingly polluted.
Here, it is no longer an option, but rather, an obligation and that from politics and administrations, they must put a forceful will if we do not want face really serious problems for the health of the citizens.
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