Bringing sustainability on board

Electric cars are often in the spotlight, but shifting other forms of road transport over to other fuel sources is also on the agenda. Indeed, the government’s Climate Action Plan 2021 aims to have 1,500 electric buses on the road by 2030.

Denise Harris, chief executive of commercial vehicle distributor Harris Group said she has seen first-hand the interest in alternatively fuelled vehicles, and that this year is a watershed in terms of demand.

“Ireland is making significant progress towards decarbonising our national transport network, and this is driving the upward momentum for EVs,” she said.

The 1,500-bus target is an ambitious one, Harris said, but one that was achievable. However, while electrifying urban routes is feasible, there is an assumption that electrifying rural routes is more challenging. This was not the case, she said.

“At Harris Group, we introduced Ireland’s first 100 per cent electric bus for use on Local Link transport routes last year. The 26-seater STEED bus is now used as part of the Transport for Ireland bus service, which connects rural and urban communities at a zero-carbon cost,” she said.

To prove its point, Harris Group ran the ‘Compass Challenge’, a non-stop 254km trip from its Dublin headquarters to Cork. Upon arrival, the bus was found to have 44 per cent of its battery life remaining.

At the moment the demand for greener, electric bus solutions is primarily being driven by public operators, but Harris has seen a substantial degree of interest and sales from private operators this year – particularly in commuter and regional towns. However, greater supports would turbocharge the change.

“For example, later this year, the Athlone town service will be the first service to go fully electric, following a funding and procurement process initiated by the National Transport Authority. In addition, Galway has become the first city in the country to have a completely hybrid Bus Eireann fleet. The city has therefore transitioned to a low-emission transport network, thus reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 30 per cent.

“Across the private transport network, we know that operators are keen to play their part in creating a zero-emission national transport network, but they need to be empowered and enabled. While the Alternatively Fuelled Heavy Duty Vehicle Purchase Grant Scheme has been of help to some, we really need to revise old legislation that prohibits the leasing of vehicles in order to facilitate the mass take-up of EVs,” she said.

Given that a considerable number of commercial bus companies operate regional routes, range is a key consideration, and Harris said the company’s buses boast ranges of 300km and 467km.

“This makes it ideal for covering commuter transport needs which very much aligns with the requirements of commercial bus operators,” she said.

Carrot and stick

Recent fuel price shocks as a result of the lockdowns and the Russian invasion of Ukraine form a stick that could help drive an EV transition, but Harris said a carrot was also present.

“In this case, the carrot is the cost-efficacy of investing in an electric vehicle. Electric buses are generally cheaper to buy than ever before, thanks to government grants and an emerging second-hand electric vehicle market that has grown in prominence over the years,” she said.

In addition, electric buses are much cheaper to run, and provide significant energy storage capacity, which allows for electricity to be re-used at a convenient time – such as when there is a surge in demand on the grid.

Across Europe, 2,210 electric buses were registered in 2020 and this figure climbed to 3,282 in 2021, with both the Netherlands and Germany dominating the market. While Ireland has been slightly slower to react, Harris said the country was headed in the right direction.

The target of 1,500 electric buses laid out in the Climate Action Plan solidifies our ambition, but also offers a tangible, defined target that the country can strive towards, she said.

“Ireland has the potential to become a global leader in the provision of electric buses – but we need to nurture our homegrown expertise in this space. Hildegarde Naughton, the Minister of State at the Department of Transport, recently opened our EV Training Academy which offers dedicated and individualised learning modules, to train the next generation of electric vehicle technicians. This will help to incentivise more public transport providers and commercial bus operators to invest in electric buses, knowing that through our expert training, vehicle maintenance issues can be rectified on-site, without unnecessary delays.”

Ireland’s national charging network lags its EU peers, however, suggesting a need for strategic funding.

“This was demonstrated last year by the Energy Transition Readiness Index 2021 report by the Renewable Energy Association and sponsored by Eaton. In this report, Ireland ranked joint lowest on the implementation of charging infrastructure. The public and industry support is present – but we need to see more resources being deployed to enhance our charging network,” Harris said.

The potential carbon emissions savings are considerable: a single barrel of crude oil contains approximately 317kg of carbon, and the average diesel bus on an intercity route will use two of these per day, Harris said.

“When a diesel bus is replaced by an electric bus, on an intercity route, the carbon saving works out at in excess of 230 tons per annum. These savings do not only offer an environmental benefit, but also a financial one. Looking ahead, the EU Emissions Trading Scheme 2 could require road transport providers to pay a fixed charge for every ton of carbon emitted that exceeds their allocated amount. By switching to an electric bus, transport providers will emit zero carbon emissions and will therefore be ineligible to pay both this proposed charge, and any further penalties that may be imposed at a later stage,” she said.