It is likely to cost in excess of €1.3 billion to convert the public bus fleet operating in urban areas across the country to zero-emission vehicles, the National Transport Authority (NTA) has estimated.
The NTA envisages that diesel and hybrid buses will be withdrawn from service in Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford on a phased basis over the next decade or so.
The NTA plans that the urban public bus fleet will be entirely operated by zero-emission vehicles by 2035.
However, in a reply to a parliamentary question tabled by Catherine Murphy of the Social Democrats, the NTA signalled the process will be expensive.
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The NTA said an average zero-emission battery-electric double deck bus costs in the region of €675,000.
It said that an average charging point for a bus costs about €100,000.
The NTA said the current unit cost of a new single-deck battery-electric bus was some €615,000 including VAT.
“Assuming an urban public bus fleet of approximately 1,700 buses (which is inclusive of those buses currently used on town bus services) ... the total cost of converting the entire urban public bus fleet to zero-emission is likely to be in excess of €1.3 billion,” the NTA said.
The NTA estimate for the transition to zero-emission vehicles does not include coaches used mainly on regional services or intercity routes.
The NTA said the full urban vehicle replacement programme would take place over a 12-year period – which was the optimum operational life for a bus fleet.
It said a significant proportion of such expenditure would be necessary in any event to replace vehicles that came to the end of their efficient service lives.
The NTA said that the non-urban public bus fleet – which included vehicles currently used on regional services – consisted primarily of coaches.
It said that “owing to the immaturity of zero-emission technology in coaches, it is not currently possible to advise as to the cost of converting the entire non-urban public bus fleet to zero-emission”.
Under current NTA plans to phase out non-zero emission vehicles, diesel buses would be withdrawn from service in Dublin and Cork cities by 2030.
Hybrid vehicles would be removed from service in Limerick and Galway by 2032 and in Dublin by 2033.
The entire urban fleet would be operated by zero-emission vehicles by 2035 under the NTA plan.
In his answer to the parliamentary question, Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan said no new diesel-only buses had been purchased for urban public-service-obligation bus fleets since July 2019, as set out in the National Development Plan 2018-2027.
“The Government is committed to the decarbonisation of the public transport sector in line with the Climate Action Plan.”
“Electric buses produce no emissions and offer reduced interior and exterior noise levels compared to diesel buses. This transition to electric buses will result in cleaner air and less noise pollution in areas where the buses are operating, while also providing a quieter journey for passengers.”
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