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The first day of the study mission will kick-off with an overview of the European and North American state of the art and trends in transitioning to zero-emission fleets.
We will also feature the Public Transport Authority of Groningen and Drenthe in the Netherlands. The Transport Authority has a goal of being 100% emission-free by 2030 and started making the transition to a zero-emission fleet in 2017. 186 of their 360-bus fleet is zero emission, operating in city, BRT and regional service. In making the transition to an all zero-emission fleet, they are experimenting with multiple technology options. They operate 164 battery-electric buses and have deployed both on-route overhead charging and depot-based charging. They are also operating 22 hydrogen fuel cell buses. The electric power needed for both the battery and fuel cell buses comes from wind energy, and fuel cell buses use green hydrogen.
Stretch your legs before we dive into presentations and a Q&A session.
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Join us for live Q&A with the speakers from the Public Transport Authority of Groningen and Drenthe
Share take aways from Day 1 of the Study Mission with your fellow participants.
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On day two, we will be visiting with RATP, one of the biggest multimodal transportation operators (65,000 employees in 13 countries, 16 million trips per day). RATP is planning the transition of its 4,800 bus fleet in the Parisian metropolitan area to 100% ecologically-friendly transit by 2025, with a conversion of half of its depots (13 out of 25) for electric buses and half for biogas. Two depots currently have been transformed to serve an all-electric bus fleet, with a total of 200 electric buses in service, exclusively using overnight depot charging, while two depots have been upgraded to a biogas bus fleet, with more than 250 biogas buses.
1100 hybrid buses will be in operation for years to come and most of them would still stay in the fleet after 2025. In preparation for the 2025 transition, RATP conducted a comprehensive program of piloting electric buses in real life operating conditions, experimenting with new technologies, the latest generation of batteries and the interoperability between charging station suppliers and buses manufacturers.
Take a quick break before joining the speakers from today's host presentations for a live Q&A session.
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Stay for a a short debrief with you fellow study mission participants.
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We move on to a visit with KVB, the light rail and bus operator in Cologne, Germany. They have been operating 8 electric buses since 2016 and aim to expand their fleet to serve 6 more routes this year and an additional 7 routes by 2022 for a total of 114 electric buses. KVB has built up significant experience with operating in highly congested roads, heavy rain and summer and winter temperatures; viable options for charging infrastructure; depot configurations; and creating redundancy of the energy supply.
KVB will provide a virtual tour of its North Depot where both electric and diesel buses are serviced, will discuss construction of a new electric-only depot, and review its consideration of hydrogen fuel cell buses. The VDV will provide an introduction to the principles and goals of the German government’s climate policy in connection with the development of mobility in Germany and public transport in particular.
Take a short break before recaping Day 3 in our daily debrief.
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Participate in live Q&A with the speakers from the host presentations.
Share take aways from Day 3 in Cologne, Germany!
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On the final day of the study mission, we will be spending time with Transport for London (TfL). TfL currently has over 450 electric buses in operation, one of the largest electric vehicle fleets in Europe, with a total fleet size in excess of 9,000. The current target is for the entire fleet to be zero emission by 2037, through a combination of electric and hydrogen powered vehicles. However TfL are exploring initiatives to bring this date forward to 2030 to help deliver greater air quality benefits for London.
Some of these initiatives include supporting their bus operators to upgrade their garage charging infrastructure to accelerate the rate at which electric buses can be brought into the fleet. TfL are also investigating the role of opportunity charging for longer bus routes, where conventional big battery electric buses are unable to fulfil the distance with overnight charging alone. TfL are also taking part in the EU JIVE project to trial 20 Hydrogen powered double deck vehicles in London to identify their strengths and limitations, and what role hydrogen can play in delivering a zero-emission fleet in London.
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Our speakers from Transport London will field your questions during this live Q&A.
Our final break before concluding the study mission with our Closing Session and Debrief
Share your inspirations and take aways from the study mission with your fellow participants.
