Publication: Electrification of Public Transport: A Case Study of the Shenzhen Bus Group
Loading...
Published
2021-06-30
ISSN
Date
2021-07-15
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
The City of Shenzhen has China’s, and the world’s, first and largest fully electric bus and taxi fleets. Shenzhen. Electrification of public transport provides an opportunity to achieve multiple objectives of low-carbon urban development, reduction of local air pollution, creation of jobs, and higher acceptance of public transport by residents. However, owing to higher capital costs versus diesel or gas alternatives, the rapid evolution of product technologies, limited operational experience, and lack of trained personnel, the adoption of electric buses has been slow worldwide. To be successful, electric urban buses must be approached as a coherent system that embraces the vehicle, the infrastructure, the operation, the users, and the financial sustainability. The Shenzhen case study provides references and recommendations to cities for the deployment of electric buses based on the comprehensive analysis of the journey of the The Shenzhen Bus Group Company Ltd. (SZBG). This case study on the electrification of buses and taxis is part of a larger effort by the World Bank Transport Global Practice to share China’s experience in rolling out electric mobility to the international community so that other governments can make more informed decisions, avoid potential risks, save resources, and connect to experts in the field and build capacity. The case study is organized into four main parts: Part I: The Policy and Enabling Environment of Electrification of Buses in Shenzhen; Part II: The Business Model and Implementation of SZBG’s Transition to Electric Mobility; and Part III: Assessing the Costs and Benefits of SZBG’s Transition to Electric Mobility. A Separate Brochure: Key Steps of Bus Fleet Electrification for Cities References.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“World Bank. 2021. Electrification of Public Transport: A Case Study of the Shenzhen Bus Group. Mobility and Transport Connectivity;. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/35935 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Digital Object Identifier
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Why Have CO2 Emissions Increased in the Transport Sector in Asia? Underlying Factors and Policy Options(2009-10-01)Rapidly increasing emissions of carbon dioxide from the transport sector, particularly in urban areas, is a major challenge to sustainable development in developing countries. This study analyzes the factors responsible for transport sector CO2 emissions growth in selected developing Asian countries during 1980-2005. The analysis splits the annual emissions growth into components representing economic development; population growth; shifts in transportation modes; and changes in fuel mix, emission coefficients, and transportation energy intensity. The study also reviews existing government policies to limit CO2 emissions growth, particularly various fiscal and regulatory policy instruments. The study finds that of the six factors considered, three - economic development, population growth, and transportation energy intensity - are responsible for driving up transport sector CO2 emissions in Bangladesh, the Philippines, and Vietnam. In contrast, only economic development and population growth are responsible in the case of China, India, Indonesia, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. CO2 emissions exhibit a downward trend in Mongolia due to decreasing transportation energy intensity. The study also finds that some existing policy instruments help reduce transport sector CO2 emissions, although they were not necessarily targeted for this purpose when introduced.Publication A Policy Framework for Green Transportation in Georgia : Achieving Reforms and Building Infrastructure for Sustainability(Washington, DC, 2012-06)The Government of Georgia is considering options for reducing fossil fuel imports in favor of introducing large scale use of domestic energy sources for public and private transportation. However, this must be considered within the overall context of green transportation-which will generate benefits well beyond the substitution of fossil fuels with domestic energy sources. The concept of green transportation has emerged in response to growing concerns about climate change; typically this refers to a transportation system characterized by low carbon emissions, i.e., Green House Gasses (GHG). In the context of Georgia, two other important development issues in green transportation in addition to GHG emissions are fossil fuel consumption and air pollution. For the purpose of this study, therefore, green transportation in Georgia refers to reducing the intensity of fossil fuel use and increasing reliance on indigenous energy sources (mainly hydropower), as well as minimizing adverse impacts on the global and local environment through reduced emissions of GHG and local pollutants. Greening transportation will create 'co-benefits': reducing fossil fuel use will help improve the balance of trade and energy security; and employing measures to avoid unnecessary trips and using fewer vehicles for the same number of trips (i.e., public transportation) would reduce traffic congestion on the road network, particularly in urban areas. By greening transportation, Georgia could reduce the total import bill for petroleum products, thereby improving the balance of trade and energy security.Publication Urban Mass Transport Infrastructure in Medium and Large Cities in Developing Countries(Washington, DC, 2012)Developed at the request of the Mexican G20 Presidency for consideration by the Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors at the G20 Leaders' Summit in Mexico, and jointly prepared with the Asian Development Bank, this policy paper positioned green transport in the context of cities development. Urban transport determines the shape of a city and its ecological footprint. Many cities in low and middle income countries are at a crossroads. Policy decisions taken now, while car use is still relatively low and cities retain a relatively transit friendly, compact urban form, will affect how people will live in their cities for many decades into the future. A new paradigm of urban transport can be part of the solution to reversing the deteriorating situation in some cities of developing countries, and supporting others to embark on a sustainable, low carbon, green growth path: developing a city for people rather than cars, and including public and mass transport as a major component of the modal structure. Implementing such a new paradigm can be truly transformational. This joint World Bank and Asian Development Bank paper lays out six aspects, which are most difficult to align, yet, are critical to ensure the sustainability of urban transport systems, visionary leadership, integrated strategy for land use and urban transport, coordination among agencies, domestic capacity, adequate cost recovery, and private participation in the operation and construction of urban transport systems. The paper proposes a set of new initiatives for G20 leaders' consideration, including the development of an umbrella toolkit to guide policy makers in charge of urban planning to make transport decisions best suited to their local contexts.Publication Urban Transport and CO2 Emissions : Some Evidence from Chinese Cities(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2009-06)This working paper provides a bottom-up estimate of energy use and Green-House Gas (GHG) emissions for the transport sector based on data available at the city and municipal levels. For urban transport in China, GHG emissions primarily consist of carbon dioxide (CO2), so these terms are used interchangeably. Energy use and CO2 emissions are also highly correlated based on the predominance of fossil fuels in transport. A database of self-reported indicators was developed and verified for the fourteen participating cities of the China World Bank-Global Environment Facility (GEF) Urban Transport Partnership Program. Other supplemental sources were also used to enrich the dataset for urban transport and energy analysis, namely the most recent China City Statistical Yearbooks. Beijing and Shanghai were also included where data was available from existing studies given their relevance in broad comparison of Chinese cities. Section two discusses the general demographic and economic trends in the sample of cities that may be influencing the sector. Section three points to stylized facts about the most relevant urban transport demand, supply and performance characteristics in recent years and suggests how they may be driving energy consumption and GHG emissions. Section four is the analysis and forecast of energy use and GHG emissions using the urban transport drivers identified. Finally, general conclusions and next steps are suggested in section five, as well as additional details on the data, methodology, definitions, and a map of China with the seventeen selected cities in the annexes.Publication A City-Wide Approach to Carbon Finance(Washington, DC, 2010)Urbanization and climate change will define much of the 21st century. Urbanization leads to improvement in standards of living, and through the increased density and service delivery efficiency of cities, higher growth can be achieved with lower greenhouse gas emissions. Cities and urban agglomerations house more than 50 percent of the global population and contribute more than 70 percent of Global greenhouse (GHG) emissions. As the share of urban population grows, sustainable urban development emerges as an essential component in addressing climate change. Mitigation often comes at a significant cost. Carbon finance has an important role to play in reducing these costs. Carbon finance is accessible through regulated mechanisms, such as the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and Joint Implementation (JI) under the Kyoto Protocol, and through voluntary markets, using the voluntary carbon standard and climate exchanges. City authorities, however, have not been able to fully access market mechanisms for carbon credits.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Comoros Country Climate and Development Report(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-06-18)The Union of the Comoros (The Comoros) has significant vulnerability to climate change-related risks but has considerable opportunities to strengthen preparedness and resilience against these challenges. According to the Notre Dame Global Adaptation Index, the Comoros is the 29th-most vulnerable country to climate change and the 163rd most ready to adapt (out of 191). The Comoros archipelago is exposed to many natural hazards that adversely affect the country’s natural capital, people, and physical infrastructure. In 2014, the economic cost of climate-related disasters was estimated at 5.7 million dollars annually, equivalent to 9.2 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Between 2018 and 2023, as many as 11 tropical depressions or cyclones impacted the country, with Cyclone Kenneth causing the greatest damage, equivalent to 14 percent of GDP, resulting in total economic growth falling from 3.6 percent in 2018 to 1.9 percent in 2019. More than 345,000 people (40 percent of the population) were affected by the cyclone, with 185,000 people experiencing severe impacts and 12,000 people displaced. However, there is an opportunity for the country to grow more robust and shock-responsive, and to establish pre-positioned funding mechanisms to enhance future crisis response efforts. For the Comoros, adaptation and climate-resilient development are the key climate change focus areas, with the country projected to face 836 million dollars 2050 in additional costs due to climate-related impacts. Current plans to adapt to the impacts of climate change in the Comoros include efforts to improve water management, strengthen coastal protection, and develop climate-smart agriculture practices. Given the country’s reliance on its natural resource base for economic growth and mobility, protection of these resources from climate change will be essential for promoting resilient growth and development. In addition to growing the adaptive capacity of the country’s natural resource sectors, strategic economic diversification will be important to help minimize future climate impacts, and development activities will need to be undertaken in such a way as to attract low-carbon co-benefits. The Union of the Comoros is committed to addressing climate change through its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) and national priorities. The country’s NDC (which was revised in 2021 for a ten-year horizon) sets ambitious targets, with a goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 23 percent by 2030. The country also plans to significantly increase the share of renewable energy in its energy portfolio, reaching 33 MW by 2030. This will not only promote low-carbon development but also reduce the country’s dependency on imported oil and coal, which currently make up 95 percent of the energy mix. Additionally, the Comoros has declared its intention to increase CO2 removals by 47 percent by 2030, compared to BAU.Publication Jobs in a Changing Climate: Insights from World Bank Group Country Climate and Development Reports Covering 93 Economies(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-11-05)The World Bank Group’s Country Climate and Development Reports (CCDRs) provide a crosscutting look at how countries’ development prospects, and the job opportunities they offer to their people, can be threatened by climate impacts and supported by climate policies. Climate change and policies affect jobs through impacts on productivity, energy and material efficiency, and physical, human, and natural capital. They can also transform employment opportunities, especially through complementary measures that help workers and firms adapt to and benefit from new technologies and production practices. Prepared by the World Bank, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), CCDRs integrate country perspectives, climate science and economic modeling, private sector information, and policy analysis to assess how countries can successfully grow and develop their economies and create jobs despite increasing climate risks and while achieving their climate objectives and commitments. Each CCDR starts from the country’s development priorities, opportunities, and challenges, and is developed in close consultation with governments, businesses, and civil society, ensuring the recommendations reflect national priorities. By combining evidence on adaptation, resilience, and emissions pathways, CCDRs highlight where climate action can reinforce development and job creation, and where targeted policies are needed to manage risks and smooth labor market transitions. Taken together, these elements can help create local jobs, ensure economic transitions are just and inclusive, and equip workers and firms to navigate the disruptions and opportunities of a changing climate and changing technologies.Publication Vietnam Country Climate and Development Report(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2022-07-01)Like most countries in the world, Vietnam is increasingly seeing its development affected by climate change. With a coastline of 3,260 kilometers that includes major cities and production sites, Vietnam is highly exposed to sea-level rise. Climate change impacts on the Vietnamese economy and national welfare are already significant—about 3.2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2020—and they are expected to escalate rapidly even if greater efforts are made to mitigate future climate change around the world. Vietnam has historically had very low greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, but over the past two decades, it has seen some of the fastest emissions growth rates in the world. From 2000 to 2015, as GDP per capita increased from $390 to $2,000, per capita emissions more than quadrupled. Vietnam’s GHG emissions are associated with toxic air pollution in many of its cities today, with implications for health and labor productivity. At the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow in November 2021 (COP26), the Prime Minister made several commitments, including an ambitious target of reducing emissions to net zero by 2050. Vietnam’s increased attention to climate change and the environment reflects the growing economic costs of resource depletion and climate impacts, which have already started to harm trade and investment— two key drivers of the nation’s robust growth and job creation in recent decades. Vietnam now faces critical questions about how to respond to climate change: How intensively should it work to adapt to previous and predicted damages caused by climate change, given the uncertainty of global mitigation efforts? How much will it cost to reduce GHG emissions? How can the private sector be mobilized to help achieve Vietnam’s climate goals? Are there trade-offs between adaptation and mitigation investments? Are there trade-offs between economic growth, poverty reduction, and climate action, and how can they be managed? Which sectors and regions should be prioritized? What are the distributional implications of a low-carbon, climate-resilient growth path? The Vietnam Country and Climate Development Report (CCDR) investigates these questions. One of the first in a series of country-level diagnostics produced by the World Bank Group (WBG) under its 2021–2025 Climate Change Action Plan, the CCDR examines the adaptation and mitigation challenges faced by Vietnam. It pays special attention to policy trade-offs and provides recommendations to help policy makers prioritize among a range of options, recognizing uncertainties about future climate change impacts and the availability of technology and financing.Publication Kyrgyz Republic Country Climate and Development Report(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-11-03)This Country Climate and Development Report (CCDR) on the Kyrgyz Republic aims to support the country’s development goals amid a changing climate. The CCDR considers two policy scenarios up to 2050: the business-as-usual (BAU) and high-growth scenarios. As it quantifies the likely impacts of climate change on the Kyrgyz economy between now and 2050, the report highlights key government actions to best prepare for and adapt to climate impacts (referred to as “with adaptation” measures), with a particular focus on the time horizon up to 2030. The CCDR also outlines a path to net zero emissions by 2050 (referred to as “with mitigation” measures, “decarbonization,” or, simply, “net zero 2050”), highlighting associated development co-benefits.Publication Digital Opportunities in African Businesses(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-05-16)Adoption of digital technologies is widely acknowledged to boost productivity and employment, stimulate investment, and promote growth and development. Africa has already benefited from a rapid diffusion of information and communications technology, characterized by the widespread adoption of mobile phones. However, access to and use of digital technology among firms is uneven in the region, varying not just among countries but also within them. Consequently, African businesses may not be reaping the full potential benefits offered by ongoing improvements in digital infrastructure. Using rich datasets, “Digital Opportunities in African Businesses” offers a new understanding of the region’s incomplete digitalization—namely, shortfalls in the adoption and effective use of digital technology by firms to perform productive tasks. The research presented here also highlights the challenges in addressing incomplete digitalization, finding that the cost of machinery, equipment, and software, as well as the cost of connectivity to the internet, is significantly more expensive in Africa than elsewhere. “Digital Opportunities in African Businesses” outlines ways in which the private sector, with support from policy makers, international institutions, and regulators, can help bring down these costs, stimulating more widespread digitalization of the region’s firms, thereby boosting productivity and, by extension, economic development. This book will be relevant to anyone with an interest in furthering digitalization across Africa.