Zero emission buses are an attractive option for cities: they deliver improved air quality, contribute less to the climate crisis, are quieter and their lifetime total cost of ownership can be cheaper than polluting alternatives. Living in a city with dirty air also heightens the health threat from COVID-19, as well as other diseases and future predicted coronaviruses. With diesel buses among the biggest sources of air pollution in cities, the Covid-19 pandemic underlines the urgency of the transition zero-emission technologies.
The collection of resources below demonstrate the benefits of adopting zero emission buses and include case studies from around the world.
Building on the experiences that the CFF has learnt through the provision of our technical and financial support to cities in Mexico, Ecuador, Indonesia and India, the CFF has developed a series of reports, guides and case studies to help cities and practitioners to build up their knowledge base and technical capacities to accelerate deployment of ZEBs around the world. The documents below discuss topics including:
- Engaging the right stakeholders and partners in the development of a ZEB project
- Understanding the financing, funding and business models that are applicable for ZEB projects
- The core components of a ZEB system and how to select the right system for the city/route
- Key aspects in the electrification of a bus depot
Zero emission bus systems should not be planned on their own. The improvement, expansion and de-carbonisation of public transport is one of the most immediate and powerful levers we have to cut greenhouse gas emissions as transport is responsible for a quarter of CO2 emissions from burning fossil fuels. Research suggests that we should on average double the proportion of sustainable transport journeys in cities and advance a just transition to zero-emissions public transport by 2030. Similarly, persuading people to move from private vehicles onto foot or to cycle can lead to signigicant health benefits for users and large air quality and climate benefits for the city. Sustainable, long-term investment in public transport will also create and maintain decent jobs, access to work and a better health and quality of life for all. But without equitable access, not everyone is able to use public transport. Cities need to consider the equity and inclusivity in their transport planning to maximise its impact and deliver for their all of their citizens and allowing every person living in an urban area should have access to safe, frequent, affordable and accessible public transport within a 10-minute walk from their home. The reports below focus on the just and equitable planning and deployment of a transport system and demonstrate examples of non-motorised transport deployment.
To be able to be informed and make the right decisions for their occupants, cities need to be able to understand the environmental, social and health benefits and impacts that these infrastructure projects deliver to be able to demonstrate the business case for the project and illustrate the importance of the sustainable project they want to deliver. The CFF and C40's Climate Action Planning (CAP) programme have collaborated to test tools that are able to inform decision makers of the benefits/impacts of their projects and undertake analyses' for each of the mitigation projects supported by the CFF and can be found below:
The CFF has provided in depth technical and financial support to projects in Bengaluru (India), Jakarta (Indonesia), Guadalajara/Jalisco, Monterrey, México City (México) and Quito (Ecuadaor), in addition to more limited ad-hoc support to other cities in Indonesia, México, Ecuador and Panama. (Almost) all the documentation to support these projects can be found in the respective pages below for cities and other practitioners to use as necessary to develop their own projects. The documentation includes:
- Operational design of bus corridors
- Technical guidelines and specifications for electric buses
- Tender and contract documents
- Business models
- Gender and inclusivity action plans
- Climate and resilience assessments
To aid in its objective to disseminate the core lessons of ZEB deployment and operation beyond its supported projects to allow cities to replicate and upscale these projects, the CFF has delivered a series of knowledge sharing workshops and webinars in collaboration with our city partners, both in-person and virtual. Presentations and recordings from these sessions for cities in Mexico, Ecuador, and Indonesia can be found below and cover topics such as:
- Financial viability
- Bus maintenance practices
- Pilot project development
Below are also a select group of resources from our key partners that cover the key areas of ZEB deployment and operation: