eBussed article 23: The process of e-bus deployment in South Transdanubia in the last three years

Photo by Michael Dziedzic

Zsolt Pálmai

South Transdanubian Regional Innovation Agency

July 2002

The process of e-bus deployment in South Transdanubia in the last three years

This project publication reflects the author’s views only and the Interreg Europe programme authorities are not liable for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.

The process of e-bus deployment in South Transdanubia in the last three years

Introduction Within the eBussed project, the Hungarian Partner, the South Transdanubian Regional Innovation Agency (STRIA) worked closely with the key regional and national stakeholders for the enhanced use and deployment of electric buses at the public transport operators in Hungary.

The eBussed pilot areas of the project in South Transdanubia are the local municipalities with practical concepts for the introduction of electric public transport in their settlements, such as the Local Government of the City of Pécs and the Local Government of the City of Paks. The municipal public transport operators of the two settlements (Tüke Busz Plc. and Paks Transport Ltd.) have supported the day-to-day implementation of the eBussed project.

The project is also being backed up with domestic players in electric bus transport.

Without wishing to be exhaustive, we highlight the Managing Authority of the Integrated Transport Development Operational Programme Plus and the Green Bus Programme. Alike, the contribution of the public transport operators of Kaposvár, the capital of Budapest, and several Hungarian regional centres (Debrecen, Miskolc) to the eBussed project has meant a great value added.

Within this article, on one hand, we consider the future prospects and remaining challenges of e-bus deployment based on what STRIA has learned from the current Hungarian case between mid-2019 and mid-2022. On the other, and we believe that it is even more important, we provide you with a brief overview of the e-bus deployment in the major settlements of South Transdanubia – Pécs, Paks, and Kaposvár – within the last three years.

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Prospects, remaining challenges of e-bus deployment in Hungary As the eBussed project partner, STRIA has worked closely and in a form of regular consultations with the above-mentioned key stakeholders between 2019 and 2022.

On the online Interregional Seminar in March 2021, the actual state of e-bus deployment was debated with the active participation of Tüke Busz Plc. and the Green Bus Program. Here we studied especially the financial and public procurement challenges that the Hungarian municipalities face nowadays when it comes to the deployment of e-buses. At the same online event, we received feedback on these matters from the other eBussed partners, too.

At the recent regional dissemination event at the premises of Paks Transport Ltd in June 2022, the energy supply of e-buses coupled with electricity storage capacities to be provided, the pricing issues, the local sustainability of e-bus service, the challenges of meeting the individual mobility demand with public bus service, the importance of awareness raising and the role of public transport operators to provide for better, i.e. less polluted, town environment was addressed. On the topics raised professional debate has started that helped the confirmation of the prospects and remaining challenges of e-bus deployment in Hungary that we share in this article.

The opening of the STRIA produced eBussed video that showcases the regional assets and endowments of South Transdanubia as regards e-bus deployment Source: https://paksbusz.hu/megrendezesre-kerult-az-e-buszok-szeleskoru-alkalmazasara-iranyulo-szemleletformalasi-esemeny/

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Introduction of Solaris Urbino 12 Electric buses and the charging infrastructure at the openair bus depot of Paksbusz. Source: Paks Transport Ltd.

In terms of prospects, most of the conditions are favourable for an intensified or more widespread introduction of electric buses in Hungary.

Looking ahead, • the Hungarian settlements, where not-state-owned Volánbusz Plc. is the operator of the local bus services and public transport, are all major cities in their areas, and they all have their Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans with the operation of e-buses included. Currently, seven of them have e-buses, namely: Budapest, Kaposvár, Miskolc, Paks, Pécs, Tatabánya, Veszprém. In these cities and towns, the procurement and operation of e-bus fleets have already started and will continue soon, • also, Volánbusz Plc. has started an intensive e-bus deployment process that will have a positive impact not only on the e-coaches operating between settlements but on the e-buses that are in use locally within one settlement also, • the funding for these large-scale public transport projects is given by the grants of the European Union (up to 100%) or by the financial means of the State of Hungary (in the framework of the Green Bus Program, for example, up to 70%), • the passengers and the general public support the deployment of electric buses, at the same time they have a very general understanding of e-bus mobility. E-bus transport is often fiercely debated because of its real environmental impact or carbon footprint registered especially in the manufacturing phase of e-buses.

The previous are overwhelmingly positive factors that well describe the prospects.

The remaining challenges that are described below have to be answered for a wider deployment of e-buses in South Transdanubia and Hungary.

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These are as follows: •

•

•

one of the main obstacles to widespread use is scepticism about the new technology, which can be attributed to a lack of information. Sometimes, it is also the misrepresentation or misunderstanding of the technology, and refers to involving all the parties concerned (the ones providing the finance, the manufacturers, the public transport operators, the drivers), the national bus transport development directions are aimed at modernizing the vehicle fleet and improving the road network. However, reducing the environmental burden also involves several other aspects in addition to renewing infrastructure and equipment. The most important solutions of these are route optimization, measuring and monitoring passenger demand, and promoting alternative modes of transport. Therefore, disseminating the knowledge needed for the proper management of e-buses and e-bus fleets is a necessity, current e-bus charging network development trends focus mainly on centralized, on-site charging solutions, which limit the possibilities for transport management. A combination of on-board and on-route charging solutions and technical solutions is still possible. Taking these into account could significantly improve the efficiency of e-bus public transport, thus accelerating the achievement of environmental targets and the acceptance of the “new” mode of public bus transport, the e-bus public transport.

Finally, when it comes to responding to the above remaining challenges in the 20212027 programming period, making good use of the priority, and strengthening clean urban-suburban transport, funds of the Integrated Transport Development Operational Programme Plus are advised.

A brief overview of the e-bus deployment in the major settlements of South Transdanubia During the three years between mid-2019 and mid-2022, the main settlements of the South Transdanubian Region that have forward-looking public transport policies/strategies and managed to raise the necessary financial means needed for the deployment of electric buses made significant steps ahead. Below we shortly introduce the Pécs, the Paks, and the Kaposvár cases.

The Pécs e-buses Pécs, the regional seat town of South Transdanubia and the county seat town of Baranya county, with a 100% co-financing rate provided by the Integrated Transport Development Operational Programme, following a public procurement procedure purchased 10 BYD K9UB solo buses manufactured at the Hungarian plant of Chinese BYD with Floating AC chargers in. The 10 chargers are 2x44kW AC chargers, and there are 2 pieces of type 2 chargers with the connector in a newly built e-bus depot of Tüke Busz Plc. Following a short pilot period, the official, fare-based e-bus public transport commenced in autumn 2020. The average running of the new vehicles is 75,000 km/bus/ year, whilst the average energy consumption is 1,06 kWh/km.

The BYD buses and Floating chargers are in use at Pécs Source: Tüke Busz Plc.

Based on the success of the operation of the e-buses, Pécs, partly (70%) co-financed by the Green Bus Program of the Hungarian Government has recently contracted the purchase of further 8 pieces of Mercedes eCitaro solo buses along with a charging infrastructure to be used. The whole purchase process was a result of a successful public procurement launched by the Pécs City of County Rank.

The city of Pécs, before the above procurements, had a diesel bus fleet consisting of 174 buses. With the transition started by mid of 2022, Pécs became a Hungarian pioneer with its fleet of 18 e-buses. Also, the long-run objective of the city is to replace the whole diesel fleet with electric buses.

E-bus deployment in Paks Paks is a district seat town and local municipality located in Tolna county, South Transdanubia. The town is famous for its energy industry, as it is the home to the only nuclear power plant in Hungary, and for its openness to establishing capacities and building competencies in low-emission mobility. Having its own municipal photovoltaic (PV) energy producing capacities (20,6 MW built-in capacity PV park, plus further photovoltaic panels installed on more than 10 Paks municipal buildings) and innovative settlement management, via several steps raised financial sources to establish the very first fully electric e-bus local municipality fleet of Hungary.

The 6 Solaris Urbino 12 Electric solo buses and the 4 Solaris Urbino 8,9 LE midi buses are in fare-based service from February 2021 on, and from the same time on fully replace the earlier public bus service provided by Volánbusz, the Hungarian state-owned public transport organization. The electric buses – just like in the case of Pécs – were public procured by using Integrated Transport Development Operational Programme grants (with grant intensity of 100%), with a simultaneous purchase of electric chargers and the establishment of the bus depot that is coupled with the establishment of the headquarter offices for Paks Transport Ltd. management and staff.

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The novelty of the Paks e-bus developments is reflected in the fact that electric mobility is part of the wider smart city concept of Paks. Therefore, electricity is not only used for operating buses, but municipality-owned electric taxis, lorries, electric bikes, and an also an electric ferry, given that Paks is located on the riverbank of the Danube.

From diesel to compressed natural gas, from CNG to electricity in the public bus transport of Kaposvár In the third county of the region, in Somogy the county seat town, Kaposvár has also taken significant steps towards low emission mobility. First, by replacing the diesel bus fleet with the introduction of CNG buses at Kaposvár in 2015, at the Kaposvár Transport Plc. The 25 solo and 15 articulated MAN compressed natural gas (CNG) buses were public procured with the co-finance of the European Union (97,5 %) and with using the own financial resources of Kaposvár City of County Rank (the remnant 2,5 %). By deploying the new CNG buses, the noise pollution caused by public transport decreased to one-third, and the operation of these buses also became more economical – the fuel costs were halved. Given the fact that the Kaposvár sugar factory of the Hungarian Sugar Co. produces biogas in large quantities, the annually produced one million cubic meters of renewable energy source, among others could be used for operating the CNG buses.

In 2019, with one-third budget contribution coming from the European Union, a new bus garage and maintenance-examination base were built. Its capacity is significantly higher compared to the local Kaposvár needs, and by initiating further, new technological investments it could provide electric bus maintenance and general bus overhaul services, targeting further cities beyond Kaposvár, too.

One of the Solaris buses at Paks.

Source: https://paks.hu/mi-paksiak/kozlekedes/helyi-jaratok.46

The two Ikarus 120E electric buses arriving at the Kaposvár depot Source: http://kaposvarmost.hu/hirek/kaposvari-hirek/2022/02/25/megerkeztek-az-elso-elektromos-buszok-kaposvarra.html, photo of Zsolt Parrag.

As the very latest – and most eBussed compliant – step of development, in spring 2022 the very first 2 solo electric buses have arrived at the county seat town. The Ikarus 120E electric buses have a 2-2-2 door layout and are equipped with 28 fixed seats and built-in Valeo air conditioners, a complete external-internal security camera system, and USB sockets for charging mobile devices. In addition to the electric buses, the Hungarian manufacturer Ikarus also provides technical training, as well as two night-time and one fast-charging equipment (each being a product of SETEC Power).

Just like in the case of Pécs, with this Kaposvár electric bus purchase, the fully CNGbased bus public transport at a county seat town started its transition to an exclusively electricity-based one.

www.interregeurope.eu/ebussed eBussed project supports regions in the transition towards low-carbon mobility and more efficient public transport in Europe by promoting the use of e-buses.