Examination of the Development of New Bus Registrations with Alternative Powertrains in Europe

Abstract

The setting of minimum targets for EU member states to procure green vehicles within two reference periods ending in 2025 and 2030, should help to promote mobility with low, respectively zero emissions. The research results reveal that the V4 countries (Slovakia, Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary) will find it very difficult to meet the set minimum targets for the share of ecological buses in the total number of buses included in the sum of all contracts subject to EU Directive 2019/1161 concluded from 2 August 2021. The share of buses with alternative powertrains in the V4 countries in 2019 was only 12.79% (with the minimum target being much higher). The Nordic countries are best placed to meet the minimum targets for the share of green buses (in 2019, the share of such buses was almost 19%). The crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has and continues to affect bus demand across Europe, may have a significant impact on meeting the minimum targets, especially by the end of the first reference period.

Keywords

• buses
• alternative powertrains
• ecology
• sustainability