Publication: Bumps in the Road: Challenges to E-bus Implementation
Loading...
Published
2020-01
ISSN
Date
2020-04-23
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
Dozens of municipalities are experimenting with e-buses, while some last-mile delivery companies are using pilot fleets to test performance. At the same time, a smaller group of operators are pushing ahead with more drastic, big bang efforts to put dozens or even hundreds of electric vehicles into service. The authors saw how some locations have already reached total cost of ownership (TCO) parity, while other places will require further reductions in costs and perhaps some forward-thinking tax and tariff policies. The bad news is that the track record for electric buses to date has been mixed, and e-bus adoption has not scaled up as fast as many had hoped due to institutional, technical, and financial challenges. For those seeking to stay the course with internal combustion engines, there are plenty of valid arguments. This report will bring some of the problems out in the open.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“Graham, John. 2020. Bumps in the Road: Challenges to E-bus Implementation. IFC Transport Insights;. © International Finance Corporation. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/33643 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 An EV Playbook for Electric Buses(International Finance Corporation, Washington, DC, 2020-01)What are the critical questions to ask if one is contemplating an e-vehicle program? Based on the technical and business proposals International Finance Corporation (IFC) has seen so far, this report presents some factors for e-bus proposals. The broad-based electrification of buses and other urban transport represents a massive investment opportunity for IFC and other investors to invest in higher quality, sustainable transport while addressing climate change and improving air quality. At the same time, this sector is beset with some of the trickiest issues related to transport infrastructure, power, municipal finance, and even local politics.Publication Climate Finance in the Urban Context(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2010-11)Cities and the people who live in them account for more than 80 percent of the world's total greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, more than 80 percent of the overall annual global costs of adaptation to climate change are estimated to be borne by urban areas. This issues brief looks at potential financing opportunities and costs of mitigation and adaptation in the urban context. Wide-ranging potential sources for finance for climate action are described, and suggestions are made for more effective responses to climate investment challenges in cities.Publication E-Bus Economics(International Finance Corporation, Washington, DC, 2020-01)Electrifying the global urban vehicle fleet depends on the convergence of several economic, technological, and political factors. However, the big shift to electric vehicles will likely take place only when the economics of owning and operating electric becomes a no-brainer. Using the example of electric buses, two factors must fall into place before the electric option can take off: first, the upfront cost needs to come down and second, there needs to be a change in procurement culture towards lifecycle cost or total cost of ownership (TCO). If utilities can structure out fluctuations in power costs (through PPAs) and the marketplace moves to leasing and other fixed-price operations and maintenance arrangements, these calculations can standardize across the board quickly. This is when the math starts to get a lot less fuzzy.Publication Reducing the Footprint of Growth(Washington, DC, 2013-04)Reducing the footprint of growth requires a focus on three key issues: a) transforming urban areas into greener, more efficient, resilient, and socially inclusive cities, better able to capture the economic benefits associated with urbanization; b) ensuring sound management of the brown environmental agenda to provide the conditions for continued sustainable economic green growth while preventing and minimizing negative impacts and risks for human health and the environment; and c) promoting energy efficiency in housing, transport, urban infrastructure, and waste management to enhance the sustainability and competitiveness of the Mexican economy.Publication Green Infrastructure Finance : Framework Report(Washington, DC, 2012)The report estimated that in the East Asia and Pacific (EAP) region alone about US$80 billion a year of additional investments would be required in low-emission projects (green investments), resulting in a significant financing challenge. The report argues that the solution lies in understanding the causes of the financial viability gap, and then investigating how specific actions, including strategic subsidies, concessional financing, and public policy interventions and reforms, can bridge this gap to make green investment transactions viable. The green infrastructure finance framework also underscores the benefits of valuing and monetizing carbon externalities. Moreover, it recognizes the effects of policy distortions and other negative factors that impinge on financial viability, emphasizing the need for an approach to analyze and explain the gap and to attribute its components to different stakeholders. This report shows that it is essential to measure global and local externality benefits against the causes of the viability gap such as perceptions of added risks, cost differentials, policy distortions, and other factors. Once these elements are fully considered, policy makers can identify practical ways to better structure the financing of green investment projects that can be supported by the market. Three key principals have guided the development of the framework: (i) targeting green finance resources on sectors that have large numbers of projects with low abatement costs; (ii) setting ceilings on the value of support that will be provided for a tone of greenhouse gas (GHG) abatement in any sector or project; and (iii) using competitive mechanisms to ensure that projects do not receive more support than needed to make them financially attractive. This report is the second of a continuing series of green infrastructure finance publications. The first part undertook a stocktaking of leading initiatives and literature related to the green infrastructure finance theme. This second part is a conceptual piece that bridges ideas and concepts between environmental economics and project finance practices. Work will continue over the next months by operationalizing this framework (analytical methodology and assessment of green infrastructure investment climate) through a pilot in a selected EAP developing country. Given a better understanding of the financing challenges of different green projects, work will also continue in developing more customized and innovative financing instruments that can be specifically tailored to address the requirements of these projects.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Brazil Country Climate and Development Report(World Bank Group, Washington DC, 2023-05-04)Brazil is highly exposed to climate change risks. The impacts of global climate change risks and local practices on the Amazon and Cerrado biomes are of particular concern, as they provide vital ecosystem services to Brazil, the South American region, and the world. The Brazil Country Climate and Development Report (CCDR) examines the implications of climate change and climate action for Brazil's development objectives and priorities. It identifies opportunities for Brazil to achieve both its development goals and its climate commitments. It lays out a combination of sectoral and economy-wide policy reforms, as well as targeted investments in near- and medium-term mitigation and adaptation measures to achieve more rapid and inclusive development with lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The idea is to maximize synergies between climate and development objectives, while addressing trade-offs among policy objectives and key transition challenges.Publication Dominican Republic Country Climate and Development Report(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2023-11-30)The Dominican Republic has made significant progress in boosting economic growth and reducing poverty, but it still faces challenges to achieve inclusive and equitable development, increase productivity, and improve the competitiveness and sustainability of primary sectors like agriculture, water, tourism, and energy. The National Development Strategy (NDS) and the National Multi‑Year Public Sector Plan (NPSP) aim to address development and climate challenges and promote a green, inclusive and resilient future. The DR is highly vulnerable to climate change, which is likely to compound existing development challenges. By 2050, climate change impacts are expected to decrease labor productivity and affect health, crop yields, tourism, infrastructure capital, and natural ecosystems such as forests and coastal areas. Climate change also poses risks to the financial system such as the banking sector's heightened credit exposure to tropical cyclones and droughts. Although the DR has a small carbon footprint, the country's GHG emissions have been rising, mainly in the energy, waste, and agricultural sectors. Fostering a low‑carbon growth path can support the country's climate change goals while bringing important development co‑benefits. The Dominican Republic CCDR employs a version of the MANAGE model. This CCDR further extends the model to incorporate the path of emissions from key sectors (transport, energy, AFOLU), and to incorporate DR‑specific climate damage functions to introduce the impact of climate change on the economy.Publication Egypt Country Climate and Development Report(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022-11-08)This Country Climate and Development Report (CCDR) explores the challenges and opportunities of improving the alignment of Egypt’s development goals with its climate ambition. The CCDR offers a set of policy options and investment opportunities that, if implemented within five years, can deliver short-term benefits in selected sectors while also creating momentum toward important long-term benefits. The options identified in this report provide: Cost-effective adaptation approaches to reduce the negative impacts of climate change; Policy interventions to improve efficiency in the use of natural resources, and complement the creation of fiscal space to finance projects that reduce the vulnerability of people and the economy to climate shocks; Actions that can help avoid carbon lock-in through low-cost policy changes; Interventions to strengthen the country’s competitiveness while reducing negative externalities (such as pollution) and incentivize Egypt’s move towards a low carbon growth path in a manner consistent with its development objectives. Overall, the report identifies opportunities to reduce inefficiencies, manage risk, and strengthen the foundation for increased private sector participation.Publication Argentina Country Climate and Development Report(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022-11)The Argentina Country Climate and Development Report (CCDR) explores opportunities and identifies trade-offs for aligning Argentina’s growth and poverty reduction policies with its commitments on, and its ability to withstand, climate change. It assesses how the country can: reduce its vulnerability to climate shocks through targeted public and private investments and adequation of social protection. The report also shows how Argentina can seize the benefits of a global decarbonization path to sustain a more robust economic growth through further development of Argentina’s potential for renewable energy, energy efficiency actions, the lithium value chain, as well as climate-smart agriculture (and land use) options. Given Argentina’s context, this CCDR focuses on win-win policies and investments, which have large co-benefits or can contribute to raising the country’s growth while helping to adapt the economy, also considering how human capital actions can accompany a just transition.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.