Electric buses are essential in reducing emissions

According to a rough estimate, an electric bus consumes approximately 1.0-1.5 kWh of energy per kilometer. The amount of consumption is dependent on a number of factors, for example on the temperature and the type of bus that is used. Another contributing factor is the number of passengers onboard as well as the terrain.

Our requirement is that our new electric buses must run for four hours with one charge.

As a rule, electric buses are charged in bus depots at night and during daytime breaks. In addition, on some routes it is possible to charge the buses when they are in traffic using efficient quick-charging technology in bus terminals or at the end of the route.

​Our starting point is that planning and constructing a charging station takes slightly over a year. This time period starts when we make a decision on the tendering process and ends when the tendered bus routes begin operating.

The price of charging equipment vary, but as a rule of thumb, a charger used in a depot costs EUR 30,000 and a quick charger EUR 350,000.

According to our experiences, the costs of public transportation services that are based on electric buses are only slightly higher than services based on diesel buses. The operating costs of electric buses are significantly lower compared to diesel buses despite the fact that at the moment the price of an electric bus is approximately double the price of a diesel bus.

The battery constitutes roughly half of the cost of an electric bus. It is estimated that there will be a dramatic decrease in the price of batteries in the following years.

At the beginning of 2021 there are electric buses operating routes for instance in Leppävaara in Espoo and in Kerava. Along the year, electric buses will be introduced for example on bus routes from Kamppi as well as routes operating in Sipoo. In August, we will introduce three new trunk bus routes, 20, 30 and 40, that begin operating with fully electric articulated buses with low floors.

Every year we put a minimum number of route kilometers that must be operated using electric buses up for tender. However, we do not lay down absolute requirements on the areas where operators are to use their electric buses. This means that as long as the yearly requirement for the minimum number of route kilometers is met, operators may use electric buses where it is in their best interest.

The first fully electric bus began its trial period in Espoo in 2012 on bus route 11 operated by Veolia Transport Finland Oy.

The first electric buses that were introduced in HSL’s traffic as a result of a tendering process began operating in August 2019. These buses comprised 30 electric buses that Pohjolan Liikenne Oy procured for bus routes in Leppävaara in Espoo and in Kerava. It was at this point when the trial period was discontinued and normal, commercially operated electric bus services were introduced.