Introducing electric buses to the City of Tshwane
- Filed Under Learn from Other Cities Mitigation Transport
- AUTHOR Mike Weston
- PUBLICATION DATE September 2018
As the price of zero emission buses continues to decrease, cities are making ambitious commitments on transport, climate change and air quality - such as the C40 Green and Healthy Streets Declaration. Some cities, like Shenzhen, have already electrified their entire fleet. For those cities still grappling with the complexity and uncertainty inherent in this transition, this report, developed for the City of Tshwane, South Africa, provides a case study of how municipalities and public transport authorities can navigate the issue, address likely challenges, and build on simple but specific recommendations. The report was prepared by the Financing Sustainable Cities Initiative, a partnership between the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group and the WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities, funded by the Citi Foundation.
This case study builds on Tshwane's commitment to promote cleaner mobility as part of its climate change plan. It provides a global overview of the electric bus market, and a summary of the operational, technical, maintenance- and infrastucture-related challenges that the city's transition is likely to face. Tshwane is aiming to deliver a small trial of electric buses in 2019.
Specific recommendations for Tshwane include:
- Understand grid capacity issues at the three bus depots currently operated by Tshwane Bus Services;
- Establish a South African Clean Bus Working Group with other cities in South Africa;
- Engage bus manufacturers to understand market trends;
- Evaluate health and climate benefits of electric buses in South Africa;
- Develop a zero-emission bus roadmap for the city's bus fleet.
For any questions about the report, please contact Anthony Courreges, Clean Transportation Finance Manager, at acourreges@c40.org.