BeFo Bus Accompanying program research Innovative drives and vehicles
Project period: 09/2018 – 08/2021
The federal government is promoting the switch to buses with alternative drive systems in numerous cities. The accompanying bus research evaluates funded projects and assesses their practicality, energy efficiency and costs.
The transition to zero-emission buses equipped with innovative propulsion systems presents challenges for public transportation companies. Not only the introduction of the buses themselves, but also the establishment of the necessary energy supply infrastructure requires careful planning.
To support this transition, the federal government, the states, and the European Union have launched various funding programs to kickstart the market and facilitate the ramp-up.
In this context, the Federal Ministry of Digital and Transport (BMDV) and the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety, and Consumer Protection (BMUV) are funding the procurement of electric bus systems, consisting of vehicles and the necessary energy supply infrastructure.
In addition, the BMDV supports research and development projects as well as the development of electric mobility concepts to further support market preparation and market ramp-up for electric mobility applications.
With the aim of consolidating the individual results of the funded projects on the introduction of zero-emission local buses, the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMDV) initiated a programmatic accompanying research initiative. The “Bus” accompanying research initiative compiled and evaluated the findings and experiences of the individual projects from the three funding areas—vehicle procurement, electric mobility concepts, and research and development projects—to provide an overview.
A guide was thus developed to provide initial information on zero-emission bus systems. Building on this, an online decision-making tool was developed that provides transport companies with indicative information based on the input data they provide regarding their specific operational processes. The guide and the tool are available at: www.ebustool.de
As a result, an indication of the economic impacts on future budget and departmental planning for road-based public transit could be provided for the e-bus systems examined.
