Learning from Implementation of Low and Zero Emission Buses from DfT and Transport for West Midlands.
The event shared findings from two published DfT reports on low and zero emission buses and learnings so far from implementation of the All-Electric Bus Town in Coventry:
• The zero-emission bus regional areas (ZEBRA) scheme provides funding to support the introduction of zero-emission buses and the infrastructure needed to support them. Findings will be shared from the interim evaluation report and provide an overview view of the ZEBRA scheme and a summary of findings from the pre-implementation phase, including factors which contributed to successful ZEBRA bids.
• The low emission bus scheme provided funding to support the purchase of low emission buses and supporting infrastructure. Findings will be shared from the full monitoring report which tracked schemes over a 12 month trial period. The focus will be on the observed differences in operational performance and greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) between diesel buses and the four low emission technologies: battery electric, hydrogen fuel cell, Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), and diesel hybrid. The presentation will consider factors such as wheel-to-wheel emissions, greenhouse gas savings, reliability, and fuel cost savings, exploring how these factors vary across the different technologies. Customer, operator, and driver experiences will also be shared.
• In March 2021, the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) was awarded funding to deliver the first All Electric Bus Town or City (AEBT)
This will see all local buses operating within the city of Coventry (including cross-boundary services) operated with battery electric buses by the end of 2025. This presentation will examine the success, challenges and lessons learnt to date – including technical, commercial and legal issues of electrifying a whole bus fleet and large bus depot as well as the role of TfWM in managing this transition whilst protecting bus services in the region.
The event will be of interest to anyone wanting to hear learnings from the implementation of low and zero emission buses to date, including LTAs, operators and other stakeholders currently or considering introducing zero or low emission buses in their areas. The event may be useful for those considering submitting a bid for the recently announced ZEBRA 2 funding scheme.