Factbox: Five facts on why electric buses are key to Biden's green agenda

GreenPower Motor

14/07/2021 12:00

By Tina Bellon
    July 14 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden has vowed to
significantly reduce emissions by 2030, while at the same time
creating new, well-paid green energy jobs. His administration
has identified bus electrification as one of the main ways to
achieve that goal.
    While more than half of transport emissions are produced by
conventional passenger cars, diesel-powered transit buses are
considered among the worst polluters, particularly in America's
cities.
    
    MASS TRANSIT POLLUTION
    Converting transit buses to battery or fuel-cell power is
considered one of the fastest ways to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions from the transportation sector, which at 29% accounts
for the largest share of U.S. emissions. 

    LOSING THE ELECTRIC BUS RACE
    Of the United State's roughly 70,000 largely diesel transit
buses, only around 2% are currently zero emission, according to
the Center for Transportation and Environment, which advises
transit agencies on clean energy buses. 
    That puts the United States far behind China, which has
converted nearly 60% of its bus fleet, according to Chinese
government data for 2020. In Europe, electric buses made up 6%
of total new bus registrations in 2020, according to the
European Automobile Manufacturers' Association.
    
    WHO FUNDS U.S. ELECTRIC BUSES?
    U.S. transit agencies receive a large part of funding from
the Federal Transit Administration, an agency within the U.S.
Department of Transportation that has provided nearly $670
million in e-bus grants over the last eight years.
    Thanks in part to that funding, the U.S. e-bus market is
expected to balloon five-fold to $2.7 billion by 2024, according
to analysts at P&S Intelligence.
    
    WHO ARE THE INDUSTRY PLAYERS?
    The U.S. electric bus market is currently led by two players
selling purpose-built battery-powered buses: California-based
Proterra Inc  PTRA.O  and BYD North America, a unit of
China-based BYD Co Ltd  002594.SZ . Each company has sold around
1,000 e-buses in the U.S. over the past ten years.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL2N2OI1WY
    But electric models of incumbent diesel bus makers,
including U.S.-based GILLIG, Canadian NFI Group Inc's  NFI.TO 
New Flyer unit, and Canada-based Novabus, a Volvo  VOLVb.ST 
subsidiary, are gaining in popularity among transit officials.
    New Flyer, GILLIG, Novabus, BYD and Proterra jointly have
capacity to produce around 6,000 electric and conventional buses
per year, with BYD making up around a fourth of overall
production capacity. 
        
    WHAT IS BIDEN'S GOAL?
    Biden aims to electrify 50,000 diesel buses, or roughly 70%
of the U.S. fleet over the next eight years. 
    Under a bipartisan agreement struck last month, $7.5 billion
would flow to bus electrification programs, although that
funding also includes electric school buses.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL2N2O717W
    Biden wants to see that pot of money spur creation of
well-paying union jobs.

    

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ANALYSIS-Electric bus maker BYD shows China complications in
Biden climate push     urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL2N2OI1WY
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 (Reporting by Tina Bellon in Austin, Texas; editing by Edward
Tobin)
 ((Heather.Timmons@thomsonreuters.com;))