The Transition to Electric Buses in Public Transport : Lessons learned from Sweden, Norway, and the Netherlands

In recent years, the electrification of buses in public transport systems has increased in both scale and pace. Today, there are several examples of how this transition has been handled in public transport, with partly or fully electrified bus fleets in regular operations in many cities.The research project e(+)bus has focused on how the transition to electric buses has been handled in six Swedish cities (Stockholm, Malmö, Gothenburg, Jönköping, Ystad and Piteå), gathering experiences and lessons learned from diverse geographical settings, organisational contexts, and varying fleet sizes and stages of transition. The project has also had an international outlook, including cities in both Norway (Oslo and Trondheim) and the Netherlands (Eindhoven) in the scope of the study.In this report, we have phrased lessons learned and experiences, based on previous publications within the project, that we consider relevant in other contexts, too, where the transition may be in its early stages. Based on these lessons learned, we conclude with four recommendations for the public transport sector, together with research, to ensure that the continued transition is both efficient and sustainable:1. Public Transport Authorities should develop long-term strategies for the ownership of chargers and depots.2. Actors in the public transport sector should be attentive to and considerate of the handling of different timeframes in the transition; for example, contract length, technical lifespan, the timeframe of different planning processes, and technical development over time.3. To enable continuous development of competencies within the sector, public transport actors ought to initiate a platform or arena to share knowledge and experiences of the transition.4. During the project, the conditions for and arena of the transition to electric buses have changed several times. In a world of constant change, there is a need for further research on the transition to electric buses.