Electric buses
The electric bus revolution
In recent years, electric buses have become increasingly important in the process of decarbonising society. In the search for environmentally friendly means of transport, public transport, especially the bus, is the best alternative as it helps to ease traffic and reduce transport-related emissions.
Buses are one of the most important means of transport. Since they can carry large numbers of people on each trip (up to more than 100 passengers), the bus significantly reduces the number of cars on the road. This alone is considered a very efficient way to help decarbonise, but thanks to advances in vehicle propulsion technology, the bus itself has also undergone some changes.
Progress has been made in recent years introducing zero-emissions buses. In addition, the electric bus has proven to be more effective and have better performance than the other alternatives.
The operation of electric buses
Despite their size, electric buses are no different from cars, and need a charging infrastructure to connect the vehicle when it’s parked and charge the on-board batteries. Once charged, the batteries supply the vehicle with enough energy to be able to make its trip without needing to stop again to charge.
The most positive and interesting part is how easily charging can be planned. Due to route planning and city bus schedules, it’s very easy to establish the stop needed to charge the batteries in advance. These stops can be made at external charging points or at private charging infrastructure exclusively for bus charging like Iberdrola España is developing.
Iberdrola and the electric bus
At Iberdrola España, we are promoting the implementation of electric buses with more than 550 charging points already installed and we hope to continue helping to decarbonize more vehicles in the coming months within the urban transport electrification projects that the company is carrying out. In addition to being present at the facilities of the main public transport operators in Spain, we also have charging points awarded in Portugal, within Braga Urban Transport, and in Scotland, with points up and running at Houston's Lockerbie.
In Iberdrola España's pursuit of the electrification of public transport, we have helped operators to analyse the feasibility of the electrification of lines and to study rolling out charging infrastructure at their platforms. We also analyse the electric infrastructure to be able to implement charging points in depots, as has been done in Madrid, Spain for the EMT city buses. In addition, our value proposition includes long-term renewable energy supply and smart charging management software to optimise charging time and emissions.
VER INFOGRAPHIC: Electric buses [PDF]
Advantages and deployment of the electric bus
The main advantage of these new means of transport is the reduction of CO2 emissions and the lower operating cost due to the cost difference between traditional fuels and electricity, which offsets the initial, higher infrastructure costs. In addition, quieter operation is a very important factor in reducing noise pollution.
Companies such as Volvo, Mercedes, Solaris and Irizar are already working on projects to increase their electric bus offering. Technological advances have already allowed us to have intercity electric bus options on the market, some of which are already circulating within the Community of Madrid. In addition, some manufacturers are also working on long-distance buses.
There are, unfortunately, some disadvantages to electric buses, such as the time needed to charge their batteries or their autonomy in certain cases. That’s why, in addition to electric buses, at Iberdrola España we are also committed to investing in hydrogen buses. We are the only company that has green hydrogen for buses thanks to our installation at the Port of Barcelona, to be able to cover the charging needs of 60 buses in addition to part of the daytime fleet that the transport system of Barcelona has.
