EPTO Position paper- Proposals to end the production of diesel buses and coaches by 2030.

“EPTO welcomes the acceleration of decarbonisation of the bus and coach industry but cautions that this is not without its challenges.  With respect to urban and suburban bus type vehicles, of Category M3 Classes I and II (being “city buses as referenced in the European Commission’s announcement of 14 February 2023), EPTO considers that ending production of these in 2030 will not cause undue problems for operators, but will place an additional financial burden on local transport authorities in terms of the additional capital costs of such vehicles and associated power/fuelling infrastructure, that will be reflected in operators’ increased contract prices. 

“For interurban and coach type vehicles, of Category M3 Class III, EPTO considers that there remain significant issues with the maturity of the technology – in particular with battery power, where vehicles are not yet readily available to operate the longest distance services without a significant adverse impact on vehicle cost and vehicle weight (which impacts on passenger and luggage capacity).   Therefore, EPTO considers that it would be prudent to retain the 2035 guillotine for now for such vehicles, but to keep this under review as the availability of suitable designs evolves.  EPTO members are keen to work with manufacturers to accelerate this process.”

Epto 15/04/2023