High-quality bus services

Imagine a normal morning; you walk to the bus stop, which resembles a tram platform, and sit down in an unusually large bus with extra-large doors. It drives quickly away from the platform and down the road, which is empty of car traffic.  You can watch endless queues of cars on the adjacent motorway or under the bus track, while you get to work in record time along the dedicated bus lane. This is not an image of the future – it is a reality for thousands of commuters all over the world.

High-standard bus routes are inexpensive alternatives to tram and train lines. They do not require the same infrastructure development and the vehicles cost less than trains. For this reason, many countries with poor economies have adopted such systems for public transportation. One example is the Columbian capital Bogotá, which built a high-standard bus route in 2000, with four dedicated bus lanes. Several other countries in Latin America, Africa and Asia have established or are establishing similar systems.

High-standard bus routes are a natural choice in most city areas. A well-developed public transportation network persuades more people to choose a more environmentally-friendly transportation alternative than cars.  At the same time, we know that most buses run on diesel. There must therefore be a strong focus on developing more climate-friendly technologies for buses. 

Electric buses are largely identical to so-called trolley buses which, like trams, receive electricity from an overhead cable. The trolley bus has obvious limitations, so various types of battery-powered buses are under development. I addition to electric buses we need to develop other low-emission or zero-emission technologies such as hydrogen or environmentally-friendly bio-fuels.