The growth of electric buses and sustainable mobility in Europe is steady and consistent. While 19 public transport companies operating across 25 European cities already have a plan to replace their fleets with 2,500 new electric buses by 2020, it is estimated that by 2025 this figure will rise to 6,100 units, covering 43 per cent of the European fleet.

This is revealed by the "ZeEUS eBus Report", drawn up by the Zero Emission Urban Bus System project, a European initiative created with the aim of building a sustainable transport system to reduce emissions and improve air quality and noise levels in urban areas. It is a consortium bringing together more than 40 partners, from energy operators to transport companies and bus manufacturers. The European Commission funds it with €13.5 million.

Europe as a laboratory for electric buses

To date, Europe has more than 1,300 electric buses on its roads (both in service and under development) and ranks as the world's second-largest market, after Asia. The vehicles considered in the report are 100 per cent electric ones, plug-in hybrids (with electric and diesel engines) and those powered by the electricity grid (such as trolleybuses). The country with the highest number of low-emission buses is the United Kingdom, with as much as 18 per cent of these, followed by the Netherlands, Switzerland, Poland and Germany, each with 10 per cent.

But it is China that is driving the sector: in 2015 the Asian giant reached 170,000 electric buses in circulation, a figure representing 98.3 per cent of the entire global fleet. This is a development strongly supported by the Chinese government, which has the objective of producing 1.67 million electric vehicles (including e-buses), thereby creating 1.2 million jobs every year in the period 2010–2020.

Reduction in the use of "dirty" fuels

"With approximately 450 billion bus journeys per year worldwide, buses are a significant part of any public transport system — the only one in many cities," writes Alain Flausch, secretary general of the Uitp (International Association of Public Transport). "However, the bus still suffers from an image problem, caused in part by the fact that almost 50 per cent of buses across the EU are still Euro III or older. This is why fleet renewal should remain at the top of the political agenda for better urban mobility."

According to the report, in 2013 only 1.2 per cent of the fleet was electric, while 79 per cent was still running on diesel. To demonstrate the efficiency of emission reductions, ZeEUS measured the effects of approximately 30 electrically powered buses over one year: 597,161 kilometres travelled, saving 226,921 litres of diesel and achieving a reduction of 519 tonnes of CO2.

Cagliari the only Italian city to take part

For now, the only Italian city taking part in the European project is Cagliari. Here, Ctm (the city's transport company) has launched an entire line, line 5, running on electricity — called Line 5-ZeEUS. The Cagliari-based company has purchased 2 Solaris Trollino Zev trolleybuses (100 per cent electric) and 14 Kiepe Van Hool electric buses, which together with the more than 16 Solaris Trollino trolleybuses purchased in 2012 "keep the Ctm fleet among the youngest in Italy and Europe". "Ctm, through the ZeEUS project, – declared general manager Zio Castagna – intends to focus on alternative energy sources to reduce the use of petrol and diesel and thereby improve the liveability of our urban environment."