Procurement and tendering of e-buses

Thematic Working Group 4

Procurement and tendering of e-buses

Contents List of abbreviations 3 1. Introduction of the theme Business models & Procurement 4 1.1 About the eBussed project and the project consortium 4 1.2 About Thematic Working Group 4 and good practice exchange for e-bus deployment 5 1.3 About this report 5 2. Overview of TWG4 working methods 6 3. Background for the topic of Business models & Procurement 7 3.1 Understanding how the value chains of e-buses for public transport work in the regions 7 3.2 Mapping the processes of procurement per region 10 4. Good practices, bad practices, lessons learned and related recommendations 22 4.1 An overview of issues and challenges each region wants to address in the project 22 4.2 An overview of the good practices on Procuring and tendering 28 4.3 What good practice has the special interest?

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5.Interregional learning event 31 6. What insights has working within TWG4 delivered?

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7. Appendix 37

Authors Marjoke de Boer David Eerdmans Aleksi Heinonen Stephanie Keßler Nicolas Restrepo

Joseph Piscopo Ivo Tartaglia Alessandro Franchi Zsolt Palmai

List of abbreviations AM Asset manager AO Asset owner BYD Build Your Dreams; Chinese car manufacturer CBA Cost Benefit Analysis CTT Compagnia Toscana Trasporti nord; Public transport company E.ON E.ON Electricity Supplier Ltd.; Distribution System Operator in South Trans danubia ERDF European Regional Development Fund Föli Turku Region Public Transport HHA Hamburger Hochbahn AG IKOP Integrated Transport Development Operational Program LOP List of open points MCA Multi Criteria Analysis MPT Malta Public Transport OEM Original Equipment Manufacturer PTO Public Transport Operator PU Province of Utrecht PvE Program of requirements Qbuzz Dutch transport company SECAP Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan SP Service provider SUMP Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan TAM Malta e-bus manufacturer TCO Total Cost of Ownership TPL Third Party Liability TWG Thematic Working Group VHH Verkehrsbetriebe Hamburg-Holstein 3

1. Introduction of the theme Business models & Procurement 1.1 About the eBussed project and the project consortium Transitioning a region's diesel bus fleet to electric requires ample expertise in different fields. A wide range of themes must be covered to initiate and support e-bus development.

Interreg Europe project eBussed concentrates on the exchange of experience between partner regions at different stages of e-bus operation development, thereby serving regions struggling with this highly technical and fast-developing field. eBussed supports the transition of European regions towards low carbon mobility and more efficient public transport. It promotes the uptake of e-buses in new regions and supports the expansion of existing e-fleets. eBussed project contributes to the Interreg Europe program Specific objective 3.1 “Improving low-carbon economy policies” by encouraging regions to develop and deliver better policies related to the deployment of e-buses. The project also facilitates the integration of electricity production based on renewables and low carbon electrified public transport. Through new ideas and better policies, the project promotes both the demand and supply side of electricity from clean renewable sources and the subsequent transitioning towards a low carbon economy. eBussed engages regions from all directions with and without practical experience on e-buses. In addition to this report and three other thematic good practice reports, the project will deliver six regional action plans and policy recommendations to be used in each partner region. The project increases capacities and knowledge among its partner regions via a multi-level exchange of experiences and cross-regional pollination of ideas to better support the transition towards fully electrified bus fleets and low carbon mobility.

As none of the project’s partner regions has entirely settled their e-bus transitioning path, new ideas, solutions and technologies can still be introduced to their development plans regardless of their current e-bus status.

The eBussed consortium consists of the following partners - Turku University of Applied Sciences, Finland (Lead Partner) - Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, Germany - Ministry for Gozo, Malta - Province of Livorno, Italy - University of Applied Sciences Utrecht, the Netherlands - Province of Utrecht, the Netherlands - South Transdanubian Regional Innovation Agency, Hungary 4

The main idea in forming the project consortium was to find project partners at different stages of e-bus development to maximize the knowledge exchange potential between project partners. The benefits of having a consortium consisting of regions familiar with e-buses and regions with less experience on the topic are evident. As no single or onesize-fits-for-all solution is currently available for e-buses, knowledge exchange is extremely fruitful to all partners despite their different development stages.

In addition, e-bus technologies, charging solutions and business models are in a constant flux of development, with many competing solutions and models currently available. New, more advanced technologies and solutions enter the market continuously. Consequently, all regions benefit from the experiences gathered and shared before, during and after the project.

1.2 About Thematic Working Group 4 and good practice exchange for e-bus deployment The project utilized a thematic approach based on four key issues recognized in previous studies on the subject: 1. drivers and barriers; is about total cost of ownership, noise/emission reduction, upfront costs, scalability, flexibility 2. technological aspects are about e-buses, batteries, data collection, electricity production based on RES, grid requirements 3. user interface is about driver education and experiences, passenger perceptions, uncertainty drivers 4. procurement and tendering is about business models, value chains of Public Transport, public or private companies, ways of tendering, financial aspects

Correspondingly, four thematic working groups were set up to develop the regions’ expertise while taking into consideration the regional context. In addition, the necessary interplay between the sub-topics such as geographical, societal, technological and contextual factors as well as policy level drivers, have been explored.

1.3 About this report This report summarizes the work done by Thematic Working Group 4 (TWG4) on “Procurement and Tendering” for e-bus deployment. It further analyses the various Good Practices collected by project partners with a reference to the above aspects. This report takes the policy learning one step further and sheds light on regional similarities and differences in practices that have been found functional and worth spreading.

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2. Overview of TWG4 working methods TWG4 has worked together on several topics from April 2020 until October 2021. In the beginning, the focus was on getting to know each other, especially in the field of how public e-transport is organized and how the entire value chain of public transport by e-busses looks like per region. First, we mapped the value chains using a model borrowed from the manufacturing industry, according to Michael Porter (1985). We have highlighted the main steps in the value chain and by discussing it found out that there is a significant difference in who purchases the e-busses. Mapping the value chain of Public Transport made it possible to compare the public transport of the regions at the level of the entire chain. Insight was gained into which positions in the value chain belong to public and private companies and what the consequences are for the tendering process.

In addition, we have explored per region which criteria in the procurement process are current, essential and striking. Sometimes regions deal with situations arising from the past or with political views on what is good quality public transport.

In the process of collecting Good Practices per region, several obstacles, problems or questions have been discussed within the TWG to define criteria for good and not-sogood practices. Each region has consulted its stakeholders and provided Good Practices in the areas of business models, procurement and tendering and financial matters. The stakeholders were also asked which issues or problems they want to address. This has led to Good Practices not only in the field of the tendering process but financial matters in a broader sense in purchasing or maintaining e-busses.

After completing the documentation of the Good Practices, the two partners from Utrecht, province of Utrecht and HU University of Applied Sciences, organized a learning event in September 2021 on procurement and tendering and on discussing related financial matters.

Learning is still ongoing. To support the Action plan writing, the project arranges tutoring sessions that will get to the core of some Good Practices to provide deeper understanding.

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3. Background for the topic of Business models & Procurement 3.1 Understanding the e-bus value chains of for public transport work in the regions Within TWG4 we looked into the possibilities to compare the procurement processes.

Discussing, learning from each other or describing good practices first requires a good understanding of how the procurement processes work in the regions. Each partner mapped compared and discussed the public transport value chains in the working group.

The discovered insights are:

All the partner regions have different public transport value chains.

We have different forms of organization; the main difference is that the transport operators are either public or private companies. The tendering process for the procurement of e-buses varies; the procurement is done either through a public tender or through a direct award.

Public transport authorities and operators have different roles that have often evolved and are related to legislation, procurement and operations.

Although ‘good practices’ are not 100% transferable to other regions, there are still lessons to be learned.

There are different ways the tendering is organized, with Hamburg and Utrecht having the most diverse processes. In Hamburg, the e-buses are procured through public European tendering, by the authority or operator. In Utrecht, the authority does a public European tendering of the operating contract (‘concession’). Part of the contract is that the operator is responsible for procuring the buses, so no tendering is needed.

When regions replace their diesel buses with e-buses, the way of working together changes. In the relatively simple collaboration chain between the concession provider and the transport company, new players enter the field; the suppliers and providers of electricity. It makes the collaboration slightly more complicated. The engineering company Witteveen en Bos (2017) defined two forms of organizing the collaboration chain as an energy triangle and a transport triangle, and they both would have to work together.

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As a method, to map and compare the way of working per region, TWG4 used the following scheme to map the public transport value chains and distinguish the concerned actors.

Compared to the original model, energy production is filled in with energy providers when this is more important for a region.

Figure 1; schematic overview of the actors in an energy triangle and the transport triangle

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Figure 2: Flow chart to visualize the different actors

A value chain is a business model that describes the full range of activities needed to create a product or service (Porter, 1985). For example, for companies that produce goods, a value chain comprises the steps that involve bringing a product from conception to distribution, and everything in between. Here, the model has been used to describe the value chains of public transport per region. To map the various responsibilities that belong to public and private parties, the assets have also been mapped to conclude which assets are provided independently or combined by the companies. The following actors are defined in the flow chart: who is responsible for the - energy production or providing, - the electric infrastructure, - the charging infrastructure, - the electric busses and - transport service.

The flowchart also shows who is asset owner (AO), who is asset manager (AM) and who is a service provider (SP).

The insight mapping of the eBussed regions’ public electric transport value chains in September 2020 describes the various value chains. In this report, we list an overview of the most divergent situations.

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- Utrecht’s public authority, the province of Utrecht, publicly tenders operating contracts (concessions in the Netherlands) for the operation of buses and trams.

To focus on the operators, Qbuzz is the operator of the largest operating contract.

As the ‘concession owner’, it does not only operate the buses but also procures them. And, as the operating contract is already publicly tendered, the e-buses do not need to be tendered. Qbuzz is also in charge of procuring and operating the charging infrastructure. In this value chain, every company is privately owned.

Only the concession provider is a public authority.

- In Hamburg, all the involved companies are publicly owned. The e-buses are operated by public transport operator VHH, while the buses are procured and owned by the city of Hamburg. Procurement takes place through public tendering.

- In Pécs, the e-buses are operated by a national, publicly owned company.

The e-buses are procured and owned by a public company owned by the local governments. Procurement takes place through public tendering. What is unique in this value chain is that the energy production comes from a nuclear power plant in the area. This plant and the electric infrastructure are owned by a private company. The situation is historically developed. The charging infrastructure and electric busses are public companies, owned by the municipality. In the future, Pécs expects that the transport will be organized by private companies and that the busses will be financed with public capital. So, a public tender is in order.

The conclusion is that we share the same ambition in providing more sustainable public transport but there are differences in the value chains for public transport. This means that practices are not always 100% transferrable due to these different contexts.

3.2 Mapping the processes of procurement per region To map the regions procurement processes, we have used a flowchart template based on the report Public procurement of Sustainable Urban Mobility Measures. Authors: Frederic Rudolph and Stefan Werland (Wuppertal Institute, 2019).

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Figure 3: Flowchart Public procurement of Sustainable Urban Mobility Measures

Here is an overview of the regions.

Turku Turku Climate Plan sets the target for zero-emission public transport by 2029. Turku Region Public Transport Föli procures operation with competitive bidding from several private bus operators. In addition to this, a municipality-owned Turku City Transport Ltd operates as an independent transport operator that does not participate in transport tenders. The bus lines are bundled together and the operation for the bundled bus lines is procured through competitive bidding. These biddings are carried out frequently based on when the previous operating contracts expire. The buses are procured and owned by the bus operators. The transition to zero-emission busses will be carried out step by step when new bus lines are set for competitive bidding.

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The transport services’ procurement process in Turku Phase 1: Bundling bus lines for competitive bidding Turku Region Public Transport Föli selects the bus lines to be bundled for the round of competitive bidding. The bus lines available for the bundle are those with ending contracts. The bundles are designed to be appealing and of a suitable size for the operators to make the procurement of the operation as efficient as possible.

The product from phase 1 is the bundle of bus lines for tendering.

Phase 2: Preparing the call for tenders First, Föli prepares the call for tenders. This specifies the minimum requirements that the transport operator must meet. These are both requirements for the public transport network, such as how often and where buses must run and requirements for information and monitoring, sustainability, personnel and vehicles. After the call for tender is prepared, Föli presents it to Turku Region Public Transport Committee.

The committee decides either to approve the proposal or return it for preparation.

The product from phase 2 is an officially confirmed call for tender.

Phase 3: Tendering First, Föli invites transport operators to submit an offer through a European tender.

The received tenders are carefully evaluated by the call criteria. All eligible tenders are awarded points based on the price, the number of e-buses and other criteria stated in the call. Föli prepares a proposition for the Turku Region Public Transport Committee on which tenderer will be awarded the operation on tendered bus lines.

The Committee makes the official decision based on Föli’s proposal.

The product from phase 3 is an operating contract.

Phase 4: Implementation The new contract holder has typically 6 months until the operation starts. The implementation also requires commitment from Föli, as it supervises the implementation and draws up an agreement.

The product from phase 4 is the operation on tendered bus lines.

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Hamburg The City of Hamburg owns the two transport companies Hamburger Hochbahn (HHA) and Verkehrsbetriebe Hamburg-Holstein (VHH). Therefore, the object of procurement is buses and infrastructure rather than transport services. The procurement process is performed by the transport companies. Being owned by a public authority, the transport companies must meet German and European public procurement regulations. Therefore, public tender and procurement procedures can be more complex and lengthier than procurement by private companies. As a result of the ownership structure, public transport companies have generally less pressure or motivation to innovate and investments in the future are not rewarded that much. The main features of the procured buses and infrastructure are defined by the transport companies. Requirements of public transport operations are agreed with the authorities. However, VHH does not only offer transport services to Hamburg but also to adjacent municipalities, which have their requirements (age, type and configuration of the buses). The procurement of buses is generally awarded based on the lowest price and additional criteria (quality, compatibility with existing infrastructure, etc.).

The bus procurement process in Hamburg Phase 1: Definition of requirements and technical specifications for buses At this stage, Hamburg transport operators are relatively free to define their requirements.

Phase 2: Performing European tender procedure As the buses are being purchased with public money the tender procedure needs to follow European rules to allow equal opportunities for all. The procedure is more complex and particularly difficult when it comes to procuring innovation which contradicts the requirement for buying well-established and proven technology.

Phase 3: Testing phase Every procurement includes a testing phase. The buses are being used in everyday service and need to drive for 2,000 km without any defect. Deficiencies have to be remedied by the manufacturer and the testing distance starts from zero. The test phase and thus the procurement is concluded when the bus has driven the full distance without any issues.

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Gozo Public Transport in Malta and Gozo is operated by the same company called Malta Public Transport (MPT) which forms part of an international network of transport companies present in four continents. Being a private company, the procurement of buses (the diesel buses currently in operation) is not done through a public procurement process. One has to keep in mind that, unlike most countries, Malta uses left-hand traffic which limits greatly the availability of manufacturers. Usually, a prototype is brought for the testing phase. Once the testing phase is over, the order is then done in phases.

In Gozo in 2019, six electric buses were bought through a public procurement process by the Ministry for Gozo as a part of the EU-funded SMITHS project. The purpose of the purchase was to operate between a park and ride and the ferry in Mgarr. However, the construction of the park and ride was delayed and to date, these e-buses are not in operation. In the meantime, discussions were underway on who will be operating these e-buses. MPT was decided to be the operator. However, the starting time and the possible other routes have not been decided.

Even though a few years ago MPT invested in diesel buses with Euro 5 and Euro 6 diesel technology and without a legal obligation to shift to electric buses, MPT has the interest to invest in electrification with the intervention of other funding, including EU funding.

Considering that there will be funding involved as an aid, such e-buses will be bought through a public procurement process similar to what was the case for the procurement of the Gozo e-buses.

The e-bus procurement in Gozo Phase 1: Preparation & planning The need for this project arose from the daily traffic congestion at the port of Mgarr, creating a lot of pollution0 threatening the welfare of passengers, inhabitants and the environment. Since one of the main aims of the strategy is to reduce carbon and greenhouse gas emissions, it was decided to operate this park & ride service using electric buses. Considering the existing policies and the general trend towards the electrification of public transport, this was a decision in the right direction.

The chosen public procurement process was an open procedure. That means that bidders could place their bids and the cheapest technically compliant bid will be awarded the tender.

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Phase 2: Publication and transparency The open procedure for the procurement process was chosen because it ensures a high degree of transparency since any bidder is free to submit an offer.

The specifications for the procurement of these buses were done in conjunction with Transport Malta (the National Transport Authority) who are also partners in the SMITHS project. Also, the necessary market research was done to ensure that specifications were realistic.

Along with the specifications for the actual buses, a maintenance agreement that all the bidders had to sign and agree with to be awarded the tender, was also created.

Phase 3: Submission of tenders & selection of tenderers and Phase 4: Evaluation of tenders and award Bidders had a fixed timeframe, approximately 1 month, to submit their bids. After the tender closing date, the bids were opened to be evaluated by the evaluation committee. The committee evaluated all offers against the criteria in the tender document. These included the selection criteria, the technical offer and the financial bid. Only the bids that satisfied all criteria were considered for the final ranking of the award. The tender was awarded to the cheapest compliant bidder.

Phase 5: Contract implementation & management As per tender obligations, the e-buses were manufactured and delivered to Gozo.

Since the park & ride is being constructed and the e-bus operation was linked to the service, the e-buses are not yet in operation.

Livorno So far, there is no procurement for acquiring new e-buses in Livorno Province. Some companies have recently been testing one model from a Chinese manufacturer and another from an Italian manufacturer along with one of the two main service lines crossing the town.

The companies are soliciting the Municipality of Livorno to pay attention to forthcoming opportunities for financing innovative sustainable public transport from national funding.

The regional transport system is undergoing a significant change modifying the overall 15

scenario. There will be only one operator for the entire regional territory starting on 1 November 2021. Autolinee Toscane, a private company linked to a major European group, will manage Tuscany's entire public transport system, following an open tender held by the Tuscany Regional administration. From that date, there will be a single company for the whole region and it will be the first experience in Italy. The new operator will replace 2,100 buses, half of which will be replaced in the first four years and the first 200 buses within a year. Considerable investments are planned, spread over 11 years of the contract, which will be used for new buses, buildings, bus shelters and new technologies (Automatic vehicle monitoring, passenger counters, software).

Utrecht The province of Utrecht publicly tenders operating contracts (concessions) for public transport, meaning bus and tram. There are currently two operating contracts in the province, one of which was tendered by the now defunct City Region of Utrecht, another public authority that ceased to exist in 2017. The operators of the contracts are responsible for procuring both diesel and electric buses.

Both concessions will expire in 2023, although due to the corona crisis, an extension to 2025 is being considered. The province of Utrecht is now preparing the tendering process for the new concessions. To put the new concession(s) on the market properly, the province of Utrecht (PU) first evaluates the two current concessions. Part of the evaluation is how the operation of public transport went, what aspects must be retained or, on the contrary, let go and whether these concessions responded adequately to current developments. Another point is whether PU’s management has led to the right results. The result of the evaluation provides input for drawing up a memorandum of principles. It is expected that in the new concessions, the operators will again be responsible for the procurement of buses, as is common in the Netherlands, but this has yet to be decided.

The procurement of operating contracts (concessions) in Utrecht Phase 1: Compiling the memorandum of principles The memorandum of principles describes the principles and objectives for the new concession(s). Tendering is a way to conclude a contract with a transport operator about the complete concession. This contract and the offer from the transport operator must match the goals the PU wants to achieve. Important topics in the memorandum are: - the concession area (one or more concessions) 16

- the scope of the concession (whether or not additional forms of transport, whether or not assets are owned or managed) - the division of roles between the PU and the carrier - the distribution of risks concerning the freedom to initiate developments - the main transport-related transport choices - the method of tendering - the flexibility - the financial leeway - the duration (normally 8– 10 years, maximum 15 years) The final version of the memorandum of principles for the new concessions is a decision of the provincial parliament Provinciale Staten.

Phase 2: Compiling the program of requirements (PvE) The program of requirements specifies the minimum requirements that the transport operator must meet. These are both requirements for the public transport network (how often and where buses/trams must run) and requirements for information and monitoring, sustainability, personnel and vehicles. The PvE is part of the contract.

The PvE is made in two steps: 1. the draft PvE that goes to municipalities, the Regional Consultation of Consumer Organizations on Public Transport (ROCOV) and transport operators for consent and remarks.

2. the final PvE, which has to be agreed upon by the executive board of the province, Gedeputeerde Staten.

Phase 3: Tendering Through a European tender, the province invites transport operators to submit an offer. After careful evaluation of the offers, utilizing the evaluation criteria set in the tendering documents, The Provincial Executive, Gedeputeerde Staten, determines which operator will be awarded the concession. The procedure for publishing the tender up to and including the final decision takes approximately nine months.

Phase 4: Implementation The new concession holder needs about a year and a half to prepare for his/her activities. The new concession starts in December 2023, or, if the current concessions are extended, December 2025. The implementation also requires commitment from the province: supervising the implementation and drawing up an agreement.

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Pécs and Paks In Hungary, all the local public transport-related purchase or procurement activities are carried out by municipality-owned organizations, based on their own local public needs or initiatives. The sources of funding predominantly come from the European Union, the central budget of Hungary and the own resources of the larger town and city municipalities that invest in environment- and climate-friendly ways of transport.

The procurement process starts with the identification of development needs. At Pécs, the significant problem of the local public transport is the obsolete, outdated and polluting vehicle fleet and the high level of polluting and harmful emissions.

The set objectives are sustainable transport, reducing public transport emissions and key network infrastructures. Good energy production and infrastructure background provided

by E.ON (E.ON Electricity Supplier Ltd, Distribution System Operator in South Transdanubia).

Paks has the same problems, objectives and needs for efficient energy production and infrastructure as Pécs.

The procurement of e-buses in Pécs and Paks Phase 1: Securing funding To ensure the financial background, the Municipality of Pécs works on funding e-buses and charging infrastructure and construction of a new hall building. The funding comes from the European Union Structural Funds, Government of Hungary. The programs: IKOP (Integrated Transport Development Operational Program), with European Regional Development Funds (ERDF).

Paks: same funding and programs.

Phase 2: Defining the requirements To be able to perform a public procurement, the Municipality of Pécs defines the requirements: the main features of the buses, compliance with legal regulations and related services, such as guarantee, training of bus drivers, the technical requirements of the new solo buses. The evaluation criteria is defined by Municipality of Pécs. Further optional items are also taken into consideration.

Paks: same product for public procurement.

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Phase 3: Tendering Tendering with the Municipality of Pécs; (the tendering process was coordinated

by Pécs Urban Development Plc, subsidiary of Pécs with 100 % ownership rights).

Three bidders were invited to the public tender. BYD’s vehicle fulfilled the requirements of the tender.

The tendering process in Municipality of Paks was coordinated by Protheus Plc, a subsidiary of Paks with 100% ownership rights). Three bidders were invited to the public tender. Solaris vehicle fulfils the requirements of the tender.

Phase 4: Contracting assets Contracting assets with the Municipality of Pécs; The tender has been awarded to BYD. The contracting authority still has the option for optional items (8+2 buses [2 buses is the option]) for further agreement. The output of Phase 3 and 4 is a contract.

Contracting assets with the Municipality of Paks; The tender has been awarded to Solaris. The contracting authority still has the option for optional items for further agreement. The bid contained 6 solo and 4 midi Solaris buses. Exercise a contractual option was not utilized. The output of Phase 3 and 4 is a contract.

Phase 5: Implementation Pécs; for the implementation of charging infrastructure and e-buses, agreements are made in connection with transport services and operation. Tüke Busz Plc. with the help of the Municipality (as the asset owner) operates local public e-bus transport.

Paks: Paks Transport Ltd. takes over service provision from Volánbusz Ltd. Paks Transport Ltd. with the help of Municipality (as the asset owner) operates local public e-bus transport.

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Conclusion When comparing the processes of procurement of the regions it is noticeable that the different phases in the processes are similar in phases 2, 3 and 4. It is only the starting point from which the process starts that is different. This has to do with whether or not regions have experience in offering electric public transport. When there is no experience yet, the process starts with identifying the need for development to introduce zero-emission for the buses (Gozo and Pécs and Paks) and with looking for the necessary funding (Pécs and Paks). The regions that have gained experience with e-buses start the process with the favourable bundling of bus lines (Turku), with the terms of service (Hamburg) and conditions for upscaling the number of e-buses and the organization that is required for upscaling (Utrecht).

After the starting phase, the regions follow the phases of defining the requirements, tendering and operation/ implementation.

Another difference that characterizes the implementation of the phases is whether a region tenders the e-buses (Hamburg, Gozo and Pécs and Paks) or tenders the entire operating contract (Turku and Utrecht). The authorities of the regions all follow a European tender procedure, with differences in the tendering the e-buses or of the entire operating contract.

E-buses in Hamburg, Gozo and Pécs and Paks are tendered in a public tender, and in Turku and Utrecht the operators can set up their procedure for procuring the e-buses.

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4. Good practices, bad practices, lessons learned and related recommendations 4.1 An overview of issues and challenges each region wants to address in the project During the Interreg Europe project eBussed, all regions are in contact with their stakeholders regarding the introduction or upscaling of e-buses for Public Transport. The stakeholders per region are consulted on what are relevant topics in the process of introducing or upscaling the electric buses for Public Transport. An overview of the important topics per region follows:

Turku The number of e-buses in operation amounts at this moment to 60 e-buses. This number will change in the following 10 years. The first new e-buses were commissioned in July 2021 and by 2022 the number will rise to 70 e-buses. Ultimately, there will be a total of 260 e-buses. Turku Climate Plan 2029 sets a target of zero-emission public transport in Turku by 2029. According to the Clean Vehicles Directive, 20,5 % of buses procured in 2021-2025 and 28,5 % of buses procured in 2026-2030 have to be e-buses. Other than that, specific targets for the number of e-buses have not been made, although if cost development of e-buses continues the same it can be expected that the share of e-buses in 10 years will be more than 50 %.

The main obstacle hindering e-bus introduction in the Turku region is that bus operators see many risks and uncertainties in the transition from diesel ecosystem to e-bus ecosystem. Only a few operator companies in Finland have experience in operating e-buses.

Private operators who procure and own the buses carry the technological and financial risk of operation. The transition from the diesel bus ecosystem is full of risks as the cost structure and TCO is very different. Moreover, most of the manufacturers are new to e-bus technology, and there is a limited amount of e-bus experience in general. Upfront costs are significantly higher than in diesel-ecosystem and operators might not be able to participate in the largest bidding competitions due to the too high number of buses. On the other hand, if they do not include e-buses in their tenders, they risk losing the contracts to companies who are offering them.

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Good practice in the Turku region has been awarding points in procurement for e-buses instead of requiring a certain number of e-buses. Some bus lines are more suitable and financially feasible to be operated with e-buses, and with the points system, the feasibility analysis of each route is shifted to bus operators. As a result of the practice, several new bus lines with e-buses will be introduced, while at the same time the contract prices have not increased (actually decreased!). This practice was put in place in preparation for the Clean Vehicle Directive and currently, it seems that directive requirements can be met in Turku using a carrot instead of a stick.

Hamburg The number of e-buses in operation amounts to 37 battery-electric buses, with the transformation of the whole fleet foreseen by 2030. The exact number of total e-buses in Hamburg by 2030 depends on various factors. First, all 1.700 currently operating diesel buses have to be replaced. Additionally, Hamburg plans to extend the public transport capabilities significantly, which will lead to additional required e-buses. The number of e-buses will finally also depend on operation strategies and battery development.

The main problem that could hinder the introduction of e-bus driving on a larger scale is untransparent supply chains. It is perceived as complex, bureaucratic, and lengthy to apply for federal funding for the e-bus transition. On the other hand, funding is essential due to the high costs of the e-bus transition. Another aspect is that e-bus manufacturers currently do not fulfil all technical requirements. Example: Many PTOs require a charging socket on each side of e-buses to be more flexible during depot charging. Therefore, manufacturers are hesitating to comply, due to the increased complexity and costs. Also, to achieve interoperability of e-buses and infrastructure of various OEMs is a “hot topic”. The problem is owned by Hochbahn as the asset manager.

Criteria important for Hamburg in distinguishing between good practices and not-so-good practices are product quality for e-buses and infrastructure, communication and interoperability between e-buses and infrastructure, sustainability and transparency in the supply chain as well as ecological aspects.

Examples of good practices and not-so-good practices in the region of Hamburg/ country: A conditional delivery of e-buses is a good practice in Hamburg: to assure high quality and availability of procured e-buses, transport operator VHH in Hamburg implemented a test phase in the procurement procedure. All e-buses must accomplish a total driven distance of 1.500 km without any occurred errors to complete the procurement process. Every error 23

or defect of every e-bus within this test phase is recorded in a List of open points (LOP) and must be resolved by the manufacturer. Once an error occurs, the distance counter is reset to 0 km again.

Gozo No e-buses are operational in Gozo at this moment, but six e-buses are planned to be operational within the next 10 years. The procurement context for e-buses is a public tendering procedure.

The main problems that could hinder the introduction of e-bus driving on a larger scale: - Manufacturers’ limit of availability of e-buses that are driven on the Right-hand to operate on the Maltese islands.

- Infrastructure challenges; financial costs related to the charging infrastructure as well limitations related to the location for the depot-charging and garage where to fix the e-buses.

- Range limitation; the number of e buses required for operation exceeds the number of diesel buses currently required.

- Operation challenges related to the local topography.

The owner of the problem is the operator (Malta Public Transport), who has already invested in diesel engines and has no legal obligation to shift to e-buses. However, there is an interest to invest in electrification with the intervention of other funding.

Criteria that are important for Malta/Gozo in distinguishing good practices are that the good practices must be based on real-time performance measures. Another criterion is the availability of a prototype before investing in a larger fleet and the possibility of up-scaling.

Examples of good practices and not-so-good practices in Gozo: a good practice is that an e-bus was tested during a pilot project to gain experience of an e-bus operating in the Maltese islands. Another good practice is that the operator staff (drivers, maintenance) were trained about e-bus operation and upkeep and that the drivers who drove the e-bus had a good track record (low accidents) to ensure maximum safety. A not so Good Practice was that for the pilot project the operator was not prepared for infrastructural challenges related to charging – tripping of the main board at the depot while charging the e-bus.

Ideally, the grid must be able to supply the chargers without interruption.

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Livorno At the moment no e-buses are in operation and for the very near future, the new guidelines for the purchase of e-buses have not yet been defined. For viability beyond 5 years with the stabilization of the Third Party Liability (TPL) contract, it is desirable to insert new small size buses (below 8 mt) for the city centre as already carried out in the past until 2010 with lines PB1, PB2 and PB3 specific urban lines for the historic centre with high frequency; a sort of LAM “Linea Alta Mobilità” high mobility line on a reduced scale for the city centre interconnected.

The main problems that could hinder the introduction of e-bus driving on a larger scale; the introduction of electric buses in Tuscany was hampered by the following factors: 1. Bad experience made in the past with over 80 lead battery-powered vehicles at the regional level 2. TPL contract currently being assigned with uncertain times. As aforesaid, this situation should change with the entering into operation of one single public transport operator for the entire region as from 1.11.2021. Autolinee Toscane will manage Tuscany's public transport system. The new operator will replace 2100 buses, half of which will be replaced in the first four years and the first 200 buses within a year.

Electric buses will be introduced in the urban areas, as a start. Considerable investments are planned, spread over 11 years of the contract, which will be used for new buses, buildings, bus shelters and new technologies (Automatic vehicle monitoring, passenger counters, software).

3. Cause from Covid for the whole sector with reduction of subscriber capacities and collections The problem is owned by the transport operators; the e-buses and e-infrastructure are owned by private companies and they normally invest in the bus assets, but the investments costs are too high for private operators. The electric solution is uneconomical and does not reconcile with the company needing to optimize the production of km. The solution is a regional level financing not only of purchase but of life cycle cost including the rental of batteries.

The criteria that are important to Livorno in distinguishing between good practices and notso-good practices: If a practice is results-oriented, if a practice can be upscaled, if a practice is costs-efficient and if a practice generates new information or knowledge.

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Examples of good practices and not-so-good practices in the region of Livorno; a good practice is to propose opportunities for the insertion of e-buses at the design level before and after even small projects but aimed at the use of new e-buses especially in zero-emission areas of the city centres. A not so good practice: delegate the design and implementation without going into the merits of the choices. Once the route has been defined, it is difficult to change with inflexible infrastructures.

Utrecht The number of e-buses in operation amounts to 74 e-buses (69 operated by U-OV and 5

by Syntus Utrecht). Because the policy of the province is that all buses should be zero-emission by 2028, this means that between 2023 and 2028 they will scale up to zero-emission for the rest of the bus fleet; about 500 more busses. It is not yet decided if it will be all e-buses or a mix with HO-busses as well, but it will be zero-emission buses.

In 2025 the two PT-concessions will end, those concession(s) will be tendered to one or more new private transport company(-ies).

The main problem that could hinder the introduction of e-bus driving on a larger scale is, due to the Covid-crisis the public transport market is also in crisis. Special agreements have to be made; one of them is to extend the concessions from end 2023 to end 2025.

That is also causing a delay in implementing the new (e-)buses – which also has advantages, as the technology of e-buses is developing at a fast pace, and two years later, buses will probably be more efficient, have a longer range, etcetera. In the new concessions, a good arrangement has to be done in the tendering process on how the private companies can operate with ZE-bus assets, which are more costly to invest in. It has to be assessed what is the best way to finance the e-buses in the new concessions; whether the private operators should do that (as is usually the case with buses in the Netherlands) or if the province should take some role in it with (for example by providing bus loans or by procuring the buses themselves).

The problem is that the e-buses and e-infrastructure are owned by private companies which normally invest in the bus assets. However, especially due to the corona crisis, the investments costs could turn out to be too high for private operators, especially for the bigger up-scaling numbers of e-buses needed in the Utrecht region. They may not make a profitable business case for this concession or find a private investor funding it. If and how the Province of Utrecht as the contractor must step in with public funding (for example, bus loans) or by providing guarantees to the banks of the operators is still on debate.

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The criteria that are important for Utrecht in distinguishing between good practices and not-so-good practices: If a practice is results-orientated, if a practice can be upscaled, if a practice is costs-efficient and if a practice generates new information or knowledge.

Utrecht chooses to deliver two good practices: one in the province of Utrecht itself, where they were able to introduce 11 and later on 58 new e-buses in an existing concession (Qbuzz), as well as 5 in the Syntus-concession, for which no arrangements were provided beforehand. To make this possible, the Province of Utrecht has made agreements to transfer the bus fleet to the new concessionaire after 2023/2025.

The other good practice is in the Transport Region of Amsterdam, where the financing of the e-buses is carried out by means of a bus loan provided by the Transport Region. This has led to the largest fleet of e-buses in Europe being introduced at the start of the concession.

A not so good practice is a tendering process in the eastern Netherlands which resulted in a new concession to the winning private transport company with about 300 new e-buses.

There were irregularities in their offer, and the public authority as a contractor had to cancel this contract and start a new tendering process. These processes take approximately 2 to 3 years, so this hindered the aim of having the public transport service available in the region in time.

Pécs and Paks At the moment there are 20 e-buses in operation (10-10 in Pécs and Paks), and the purchase of further 8 ones are in the procurement stage at Pécs. The main problem that could hinder the introduction of e-bus driving on a larger scale; in terms of Hungarian circumstances, given the tight budget conditions of the local municipalities that operate local public transport bus fleets, the issue of fundraising is of major importance.

The Integrated Transport Operational Program provides a 100 % grant rate for procuring e-buses with the depot and the charging infrastructure included. This subsidy program was the main financial source of the Pécs and the Paks e-bus procurements and will be further applied in the current (2021-2027) programming period too.

Alternatively, within the framework of the Green Bus Program, from 2020 to 2021, 5,6 and 6,1 million EUR, in the 2022-2029 period further 88,3 million EUR is made available for Hungarian local municipalities with more than 25,000 inhabitants with a grant rate of 20% to procure e-buses and related charging infrastructure. The other 80% could be covered by revenues of the local municipality or by bank loans and credits. Several public transport 27

organization managers share the position that with the 20% - 80% business scheme the municipalities could deploy the e-buses in a business model that relies on public and private funding, and therefore link sustainability of e-bus fleets on enhanced local promotion and management/operation of local e-bus fleets.

The favourable elements of the above programs are that these require the existence of sustainable urban transport/mobility strategies or already elaborated/implemented initiatives that point in this direction.

South Transdanubia: Zero-emission is targeted by national policies; local strategic documents - such as Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plans (SECAPs), Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMPs) - rely on the national targets. The current goals of Hungary are indicated in the National Clean Development Strategy (draft version). As far as bus and coach traffic is concerned, a special support scheme is currently being developed for the replacement of buses performing local public transport tasks by purchasing new buses, mainly electric buses, taking into account the provisions of the Clean Vehicle Directive. Hungary's new bus strategic concept, the Green Bus Program was announced in the government decree 1537/2019 on the tasks related to the new bus strategy concept of Hungary and the Green Bus Model Project. (IX. 20.).

4.2 An overview of the good practices on Procuring and tendering Each partner has collected good practices in their region or country in the field of procurement and tendering.

Turku: Steering public transport procurement towards Clean Vehicles Directive Summary: To prepare for the requirements of the Clean Vehicles Directive tendering process is changed to award directive compatible vehicles in offers with extra points.

Hamburg: Conditional delivery of e-buses, including a practical test phase Summary: The procurement of E-buses procured by the VHH in Hamburg includes a test phase. All e-buses must drive a total distance of 2.000 km without errors before the procurement is completed.

Gozo: Pilot project with an electric bus before the procurement of a large fleet of e-buses Summary: In Malta, a pilot project was done to test an electric bus in a specific local context before the procurement of a large fleet of e-buses. This helped the transport operator to identify the challenges of an electric bus operating in the Maltese roads (issues related to the hilly terrain, high temperatures and frequent stopping due to traffic) and to analyze 28

the technical specifications before the procurement of a large fleet.

Livorno: Transport investment evaluation using ACB and MC analyses Summary: Adapting an evaluation toolkit, as an analytical model to facilitate decision making for e-bus procurement and e-bus related investment.

The toolkit responds to the need for a factual, rational appraisal of investment options; it incorporates two analytical components to depict alternative scenarios and scale them by evaluation criteria: Cost Benefits Analysis (CBA) and Multi-Criteria Analysis (MCA). Its added value: the toolkit is being of potential use/benefit to both private and public investors in other interested regions.

Utrecht: Tendering sustainable Public Transport in the region of Utrecht Summary: The Good Practice is about the way of tendering in the province of Utrecht; the entire concession is tendered by the concession provider (= province of Utrecht) to a private company (= public transport operator). Quality conditions are connected to the concession, e-buses are the property of the transport operator, and in the concession, there is room to make further agreements about sustainability measures during the term. Within the present concession, there was an upscale from 3 to 55 e-buses.

Utrecht: Bus loans Summary: As part of the operating contracts in the region of Amsterdam, the Amsterdam Transport Region (transport authority) offers a bus loan to the operators with lower interest rates than commercial banks.

Both the good practices can contribute to relevant insights, as they both describe a different situation. The one in the province of Utrecht itself is relevant for parties who want to introduce new e-buses within an existing concession (operating) contract. It provides insights in how you can make a business case for that – regarding the procurement of buses and charging infrastructure as well as their operation. This business case can be the basis to replace diesel buses with e-buses within an existing contract. The good practice of the Transport Region of Amsterdam on the other hand gives insights into how bus loans (or other ways of financing by the transport authority) can maximize the number of e-buses at the start of a new operating contract – in this case leading to the largest fleet of e-buses in Europe.

Pécs and Paks: The change of public transport business model by the transition from diesel-fuel based to electricity-based e-bus mobility The introduction of the e-buses at the town of Paks meant a firm caesure, resulting in the termination of the fossil fuel (diesel) based bus public transport and the immediate introduction of the renewable electricity-based e-bus operation. The main lesson learnt from the practice is that the transition from fully diesel to fully electric bus fleet has not only busi29

ness model consequences, but also with regards to PTO management and route network.

Pécs and Paks: Step by step fundraising for e-bus deployment The Paks e-bus deployment had two major steps. First, the local concept of smart city development received EU grants. Second, funds for e-bus deployment were raised. The main lesson learnt from the practice is that the planning and the delivery of the e-bus deployment are more effective if one initial funding source opens the door for the forthcoming one or ones.

4.3 What good practice has the special interest?

The good practices have been discussed with the stakeholders from each region who have been asked about which good practices they would like to get some more information or insight.

A special interest for the good practices from TWG4 comes from Gozo, Utrecht and Pécs/ Paks for the good practice on “Conditional delivery of e-buses, including a practical test phase” from Hamburg. Livorno is interested in the good practice about the “Pilot project with an electric bus before the procurement of a large fleet of e-buses” from Gozo. Pécs/ Paks has an interest in the good practice from Livorno about “Transport investment evaluation using ACB and MC analyses”.

In semester 5 tutor meetings will take place to exchange knowledge and experiences about good practices.

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5. Interregional learning event The Interregional learning event on Procurement and Tendering was organized 16 September in 2021 by the partners from Utrecht: University of Applied Sciences and province of Utrecht. It was an online meeting with partners and stakeholders from the five regions of the eBussed project. The program was based on the experiences form transport operators from Livorno, Pécs/Paks and Utrecht. Next. two financial experts took us through the facts about financial construction for the purchase of e-buses and the TCO model to gain financial insight.

The meeting was presented by Chairman Marc Maartens, a consultant in mobility in the Netherlands. A warm welcome was given by Jasper Hoogeland, Concern manager Mobility province of Utrecht. He introduced the video about public transport with e-busses in the Utrecht region.

Some of the Interregional learning event speakers

Procurement – vision from the transport companies Marjoke de Boer, lecturer at HU University of Applied Sciences gave an introduction and sketch of the context of the different value chains per region. Amongst the regions, there is a division in public and private companies that operate the public transport. We can see the differences between Utrecht and Hamburg and how this affects the way the e-buses are tendered: by public tendering procurement or by awarding the tender. Because the 31

value chains differ, not all good practices can be copied for a full 100%, but we share the same ambition for sustainable public transport.

We heard the visions from the transport companies from Livorno, Paks and Utrecht: Emiliano Cipriani, Manager at public transport company CTT Nord in Livorno, Italy Emiliano told about the battery problems they have experienced; his company has discussed with the ebus manufacturers about the period of warranty on the batteries, which puts the operator at a lot of risks. He hopes to get help about this issue from the Italian ministry, and maybe the European Union can help with supplying more warranties on the e-busses and the batteries of the e-busses.

Balázs Kiss, external expert for Paks Transport Ltd., Hungary Balázs told that public transport is part of the sustainable mobility plan but the number of passengers is decreasing. He hopes the number of passengers will increase when e-buses become more affordable since they are running on nuclear power in Paks. He also told us, that as in Livorno, bus drivers are very happy with their e-buses, because the e-buses are very silent and smooth to drive.

Quinten Passchier, Market Development Director at Qbuzz in Utrecht, the Netherlands Quinten told that they have many systems, many e-buses from different manufacturers and also many sorts of charging systems. They have a multi-vendor strategy so they can learn a lot about what are the best business cases to introduce zero-emission in public transport. He was honest with us about the problems they have had, as the delayed delivery of the e-buses, installation delays and vehicle problems. They also had a few diesel buses at hand to replace the e-buses when they were not capable to drive. An important thing for him at this moment is to have a mix of many systems to learn about what is working for public transport and what is not working.

Financing and costs of e-busses Pieter Tanja, a Management consultant in Sustainable Mobility at Tanja Topconsult, the Netherlands Pieter worked for the province of Utrecht and is also known as Mr. TCO (total cost of ownership) in the Netherlands. He told us about the three-step approach. First the search for the components, then perform market research to get information about the total cost 32

of ownership and finally deal with the financial arrangement. He mentioned the three-party agreement between the authority, the operator of the public transport and the financial institutions. In his experience, when you are open to each other you have less costs because of the data you have shared. He has made a good working TCO model, but it is in the Dutch language. In the meeting, the chairman noted that it would be wise to look for possibilities to translate the TCO model into the English language. This way each region and operator can use the TCO model.

Gerard Hellburg, Program Manager Clean & Sustainable by Transport region of Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Gerard told us that in the region of Amsterdam the whole public transport must be CO2 neutral by 2030, and by 2050 all the mobility in the region should be CO2 neutral. There are three means for this: clean energy, clean vehicles and even clean infrastructure. We discussed the financing for these ambitions. Gerard explained also how the Transport region offers financial products to the operators so they can finance the purchase of the e-buses.

Follow up The learning event marks the end of the working period on gathering good practices. In the next semester, each region starts working on their Action Plans to prepare the next step in introducing e-busses in public transport.

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6. What insights has working within TWG4 delivered?

A summary of the insights each region has come to, in working on the project of eBussed, and especially in working within TWG4.

Turku The work done in TWG4 has shown that public transport is organized in very different ways in a different countries and regions, which sets each region in different position when major changes, like e-buses, are introduced into the system. Analysis of the value chains and relevant actors in each of the six eBussed regions made it possible to understand these differences and make meaningful comparisons. Transition to electric public transport changes significantly the cost structure in bus operation shifting the weight from Operating Expenses (OPEX) to Capital Expenditures (CAPEX). This new cost structure brings uncertainties into profitability calculations. In each region, the value chain defines what kind of role each actor has in the change and risk-bearing. It also sets the framework in which the public transport authority can manage the change. To achieve a smooth and rapid shift to electric public transport, used tools and practices have to be selected based on the regional value chain and its actors.

Hamburg In Hamburg, four Stakeholder meetings were held in semester 4. During these meetings, Stakeholders were involved by cooperatively working on ‘jam boards’ to share and discuss challenges, good practices and lessons learned. The main aspects regarding financial topics were tender procedures and funding. It was mentioned that the European-wide tenders are very bureaucratic and complex. It is especially complex regarding the topic of e-mobility because there is still a lack of insight and experience of the requirements and therefore of the design and content of the tender documents.

Further meetings are envisaged in the form of interviews with selected stakeholders, to enable going further into detail.

Gozo The first thing learned from the eBussed project about procurement was that procurement processes are different in all the participating countries of this project. There are of course some baseline similarities but the more we discussed the Procurement Process, Tendering and Financial matters during our regular TWG4 meetings, the more was learned about the different approaches that each country takes towards procurement of electric buses. This 34

was beneficial to the scope of the project which is all about the exchange of experiences between the partners. In Malta’s case, being a country that is only in its initial phases of procurement of electric public transport, the experiences from partners who already have an active electric bus fleet were of great interest to the stakeholders. The stakeholder group for Malta/Gozo included representatives of the national transport Authority, national public transport operator, public ferry operator, regional business association and regional Ministry.

When discussing with stakeholders about local procurement plans for electric public transport the first thing which is mentioned is the challenges that such a transition requires.

Some of the challenges are obvious like the need for funding, change in infrastructure etc.

However, other challenges come from the fact that Malta and Gozo are small islands with very hilly topography, very hot summer and traffic congestions in certain areas. Said that none of the stakeholders was resistant to the transition towards electric public transport.

The National Transport Authority has issued a “National Transport Strategy 2050” which sets goals related to urban transportation with a target 50% shift away from conventionally fueled cars by 2030 and a complete phase-out in cities by 2050. Considering these targets, the National Public Transport operator has shown an interest to invest in the electrification of its bus fleet and the first step towards this transition was the TAM electric bus pilot project.

Livorno Livorno Province is undertaking the formulation of an Urban Sustainable Mobility Plan which will assign great emphasis to the introduction of electric-driven public transport at the territorial level. The guiding principle may be that of a direct public procurement with an e-bus fleet assigned to the local transport operators in use. Public procurement rules and experiences in other partner regions will thus become of high relevance, also concerning the Action Plan formulation during the latter part of Phase 1 of the eBussed project. The forthcoming procurement policies being adopted by the regional authorities in Tuscany in relation to entering into the activity of the new single regional operator will also influence the future pattern/s of the procurement process.

Utrecht The e-bussed project has shown that there are many different ways public transport is organized in the different regions, which has led to very different choices in the procurement of e-buses. In some regions the public transport authority procures (and thus finances) the buses themselves, while in the Netherlands the operator is usually responsible for that.

The TWG4 has provided us insights in other possible arrangements – which is especially 35

relevant now that due to the corona crisis operators have fewer financial possibilities to invest in e-buses, while at the same time the need for investment is increasing if we want to be fully zero emission by 2028. Other possible arrangements include procuring the buses by the authority instead of the operator (although this is not common in the Netherlands), or leaving the procurement of the buses with the operator, but taking a role in the financing of the buses (for example: bus loans) The insights for TWG4 are input for our tendering process of the new concessions starting in December 2025, in which we will evaluate which way of procuring and tendering e-buses is the best way to go forward with in the new concessions.

For TWG4, we have spoken with several stakeholders, especially the operators in our province, but also other parties like the Transport Region of Amsterdam, which is one of the leading parties regarding e-buses in the Netherlands. The conversations with them regarding bus loans were also valuable insights for the tendering process in Utrecht.

Pécs / Paks In South Transdanubia, they have learned a lot from the different eBussed regions in terms of the different roles in the value chain of e-bus public transport (energy production-electric infrastructure-charging infrastructure-electric buses-transport service) and flow chart of public procurement (preparation and planning-publication and transparency-submission of tenders and selection of tenderers-contract implementation and management).

Based on the different eBussed models acquainted, they concluded that the Hungarian case reflects well the unitary and centralized operation of Hungary and the local municipalities that are in charge of the provision of the local public bus transport. The features of this system are the public nature of asset ownership and operation of the public transport, and the extended use of public procurement processes being required by the operation rules of the Hungarian state and the law on local municipalities. Private actors are present in this system when they are addressing issues of energy production and transmission, also when providing e-bus fleets as bidders for the municipalities and the maintenance services within and beyond the guarantee period of the purchased vehicles.

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7. Appendix In TWG4 the work on describing the Good Practices was divided into a few steps. At first, we described and discussed in our TWG4 meeting per region how the process of procurement takes place. Then we consulted with the stakeholders per region what are relevant topics in the process of introducing or upscaling the electric buses for Public Transport. To do so, we answered five questions per region. And from this awareness about the relevant topics, we addressed per region what are Good Practices we can deliver ourselves or what we think will help other regions. In this report, we bundle the Good Practices on the theme of procurement and tendering, that have risen up.

Example of a working method based on the same starting points:

- Mapping process of procurement; is about filling in the schedule, but you can also deliver a description of the process -Five questions are about gathering insights: “Agreed that each region will fill in five questions to describe what is an important topic for the region. Please inquire with the concession provider and other stakeholders in your region:

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1. How many e-busses are currently operational and how many e-busses are you going to scale up in the next ten years? In what kind of procurement process context? Describe by filling in the flowchart.

2. What is the main problem, obstacle or challenge in the current way of working that hinders the introduction of e-bus driving on a larger scale? Focus on the financial and legal field and on cooperation in the chain.

3. Who has the problem in your value chain? Please explain.

4. Which criteria are important for your region in distinguishing between good practices and not-so-good practices?

5. What are good practices and not-so-good practices in your region or country? Please describe.

This project report 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.