Clean and zero-emission urban buses: Compliance with EU regulations and fleet transition in Seville
M.A. Tagua Navarrete,
J. Serrano Reyes,
J.A. Vélez Godiño and
F.J. Jiménez-Espadafor Aguilar
Energy, 2025, vol. 332, issue C
Abstract:
The EU public transport sector is dominated by diesel and natural gas buses, but fleet structures are rapidly changing. EU climate laws drive two strategies: one for bus manufacturers and another for public transport operators (PTO), with different timelines. PTOs must progressively replace fleets with clean and zero-emission buses. This paper develops bus replacement strategies aligned with EU standards, focusing on cost minimization and CO2 emission reduction. Three propulsion technologies (diesel, compressed natural gas, and electric) and two bus types (regular and articulated) are analyzed. The strategies consider acquisition, operational, and service costs, along with CO2 emissions. The proposed approach, applied over a 10-year period, uses real-word data from Seville (Spain) PTO to meet EU standards for 2025–2035. Operational data allow precise energy demand estimation, considering propulsion, climatization air compressor, and auxiliaries. CO2 emissions calculations show that CNG buses emit 24 % more CO2 per km than diesel buses. Optimization results indicate that a CO2 minimization strategy reduces emissions by 16.3 %, with only a 6.7 % cost increase compared to the minimal-cost strategy.
Keywords: EU regulations; CO2 emissions; Battery electric buses; CNG buses; Energy consumption of urban buses; Fleet transition (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:energy:v:332:y:2025:i:c:s0360544225026672
DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2025.137025
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