In the event of a disaster, public transport city buses are taken out of regular service and used for evacuations or as accommodation. Since these vehicles are expected to be increasingly converted to alternative drives in the coming years, the underlying infrastructure needs to be considered, says the Association of Transport Companies (VDV). He has drawn up a position paper under the motto “Bus is and remains the cornerstone of disaster control”.
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Even if S-Bahn, U-Bahn or city trains cannot run due to a power outage, buses are available, says the VDV. This was ensured by gas stations with sufficient fuel supplies and emergency power supplies. However, this infrastructure, which has been built up over decades, only applies to fossil-fuel-powered public buses.
More range, more charging stations
Since the EU is to become climate-neutral by 2050 and the transport sector has a particularly high potential for saving CO₂, its share will decrease significantly and the conventional refueling infrastructure will therefore also be dismantled. But then there are too few gas stations at the depots for emergency services vehicles and also too few staff and equipment to repair such vehicles.
For the battery-electric or hydrogen-powered buses that will increasingly be used in the future, there must be an infrastructure that, like the current one, is prepared for disasters or civil defense, according to the VDV position paper (PDF). With a view to 2035, when regional buses will also have to be electrified, the range and available charging infrastructure will have to be significantly expanded.
In addition to the energy infrastructure, there is also another aspect to consider. It would be problematic if battery-electric buses were suddenly sent into “emergency traffic”. Because of the limited range and the necessary charging times, their use is usually precisely tailored to the route of the route; they are usually not sufficiently charged for spontaneous additional trips.
“Joint effort needed”
“This has to be built strategically – and can only be achieved through a joint effort: without the colleagues in civil defense and disaster control on site, the industry will not be able to do this – and considerable investments are necessary,” explained VDV Vice President Werner Overkamp. It is also necessary for the municipalities to get involved in developing alternative concepts.
The VDV suggests that investments must also be made in a reserve of emission-free buses. Depots would have to be provided with powerful emergency power generators, and it would also have to be ensured that they are continuously supplied with the necessary fuel. Civil protection tasks would have to be transferred from municipal to private bus companies, which are allowed to use a proportion of liquid fuel-powered buses or intercity buses.
The EU committees have agreed that from 2030, 90 percent and from 2035 100 percent of the city buses brought onto the market must be locally emission-free. Because of new pollutant standards, it is expected that buses with the Euro VI emissions standard will be sold and registered by 2029, explains the VDV. With a useful life of 16 years, it is expected that liquid fuel-powered city buses could be used as existing vehicles until 2044.
(anw)