Collaborative Approach to Public Transit Innovation

Location: Gothenburg, Sweden

Population: 600,473 (urban area)

Climate: Oceanic

Duration: 2015 – currently

Sector: Transport

Funding sources: Public-private

City networks: Covenant of Majors

Savings: The deployment of full-electric buses results in a 100 % decrease in carbon dioxide (CO2).

Solutions: In Gothenburg, an innovative pilot initiative introduces renewable energy buses to the city, decreasing emissions and producing critical data for future green public transportation growth (source).

Multiple benefits: Environmental, economic, social and health co-benefits.

Objective – To bring a Collaborative Approach to Public Transit Innovation.

Solutions – ElectriCity, a Gothenburg-based cooperative venture, brings together 14 partners to research and test novel solutions for next-generation sustainable public transportation, including the city, vehicle manufacturers, transit operators, corporate authorities, and universities. It launched a pilot public transportation project in 2015, unveiling ten electric buses along the 8-kilometre route 55. The buses are quiet, emit no pollution, are energy efficient, and are powered entirely by renewable energy. Currently, 100,000 people per month use the new route and put new products and services to the test, such as Wi-Fi, touch screens, and a unique inside bus stop system that boosts accessibility to transportation by placing stations within hospitals or supermarkets.

ElectriCity is a one-of-a-kind solution to the combined challenges of lowering CO2 and NOx emissions from transportation while bridging the knowledge-sharing gap between academia and public and private entities.

Additionally, Gothenburg’s Traffic and Public Transport Authority is involved in numerous aspects of the project, ranging from noise to geofencing.

Funding – n/a

Innovation – The collaborative initiative establishes a platform for many players to share results and test innovative transit system parts that will reduce CO2 and NOx emissions while lowering city noise levels.

Success factors: Thank to the Electricity initiative, the City of Gothenburg will learn how to operate and deploy a full-scale electrified bus system, contributing to the city’s objective of reducing emissions by 80 % by 2035. The data is also shared across the partners in a cloud solution to drive new business models. Open data has previously been used in competitions and educational projects.

Significant outcomes:

• Improved liveability and reduced noise and air pollution result in public health savings and increased property values;
• The electrified buses lower CO2 emissions by 80% and emit no NOx emissions.

Synergies with local policies:

• Gothenburg 2035 transport strategy for a close-knit city. The Transport Strategy focuses on three areas – travel, urban space, and commodities transport – that is critical if Gothenburg is to meet its objectives of generating quality of life, competitiveness, and sustainable growth;
• Climate Programme for Gothenburg. The Climate Programme brings together all of Gothenburg’s climate efforts and directs it toward a sustainable and equitable level of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050. One of the strategic goals is to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from road transport in the Gothenburg geographical area by at least 80% by 2030 compared to 2010.

Political alignment:

• Action Plan for a fossil-fuel independent vehicle fleet. Following on from Sweden’s Integrated Climate and Energy Policy Bills, this action plan outlines the particular steps needed to realize the goal of a fossil-fuel-free vehicle fleet by 2030. Given that road-based transportation accounts for one-third of emissions, the fossil-fuel-free vehicle fleet is an important contributor to Sweden’s GHG emission reduction target;
• Sweden’s Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan. The National Energy and Climate Plan (ENCP) is a ten-year integrated document prescribed by the European Union to each member country for the EU to reach its overall GHG emission targets. Among its other goals is to cut emissions in the transportation sector by 70% by 2030 (the base year 2010).

Marketability: N/A