The bus industry’s position in the on-going quest for a solution to urban air quality is acknowledged. It could do much more than it is already if it was given the tools to do so, say two First UK Bus managers
Several things are looming that have the potential to cause upset for the bus industry, but few stand to have such an over-arching impact as the air quality agenda.
Some operators recognise that already and are taking steps to acknowledge their responsibilities, but they are also publicising the steps that the sector is already taking to minimise its effect on the environment.
At First UK Bus, two senior people in particular devote a great deal of their working lives to the air quality issue. They are Director of Local Strategies John Dowie and Group Engineering Director Ian Warr.
Both men are well-versed in the intricacies of the industry’s involvement with pollution.
They agree that one hurdle in particular is hindering a wholesale and rapid change of outlook: A lack of joined-up political thinking, thanks in part to devolution of responsibilities to a local level.
“The level of stability that the industry requires is not always there. It is hard to manage political opinion swings,” says Ian.
“The air quality agenda is predicated on the back of a European initiative. If the UK does not meet the standard, there is a debt that we will continue to pay. But rather than that being a legislative matter for European or central government, every local authority (LA) has devolved responsibility, accountability and the freedom to spend money ambitiously and yet without any real joined-up thinking behind it.”
Individual agendas cause problems
LAs often speak to vehicle manufacturers as part of their evaluation of remedies to air quality problems. Each OEM professes to have the best approach, and for a large operator, dealing with individual aspirations can be very difficult.
What does the biggest disservice to the efforts already made by the industry is the amount of negativity that surrounds diesel at Euro 6.
“Improving air quality is a national challenge. The best way of responding is with Euro 6. It’s basic ‘bang for the buck’ arithmetic. What’s better: Buying three Euro 6 buses that achieve a 95% reduction in NOx, or two electric models that achieve a 100% reduction?” John asks.
Securing political commitment to a roll-out of Euro 6 standard through new buses and retrofit in as many areas and on as many buses as possible should be the priority, he continues.
Electric? Not quite yet
First is clear that emission-free buses are the long-term future. “Zero emissions in urban areas will be a part of ‘place marketing’ and the quality of life in those communities,” says JOHN.
“As a sector we have a great stake in the success of these centres as they underpin much demand for our services.”
“We see a roadmap to full-electric vehicles; that cannot be ignored,” Ian adds. “If you join it to a renewable energy strategy, they work harmoniously. But I don’t know whether that is three, five or 10 years away.”
But both men’s view is that in the shorter term, Euro 6 diesel represents the best option. It comes without the additional upfront cost of electric power, while from an engineering point of view, Ian regards electric as a still-maturing technology that brings with it a steep learning curve.
Diesel has no such issues, and First hopes to soon begin a retrofit programme that will take a significant number of its older buses to Euro 6. The DfT and Defra have identified 28 locations outside London that are likely to be in breach of EU air quality standards by 2020. As First’s operation is largely urban-focused, it is potentially at the heart of the necessary adaptation, hence the retrofit programme.
“Across the industry there will be a need for several thousand retrofits,” says John. As a back-of-the-envelope calculation, he estimates that England may require 3,000 or more depending on final decisions on Clean Air Zone boundaries. Scotland will need 1,000 in its four cities that are air quality priorities.
Piecemeal approach?
At present the approach to retrofit in England is via partnership with LAs. The LA bids for financial support, and if it is granted, operators receive the money and carry out the upgrades.
An initial £30m has been made available and the results of the bidding process are expected soon. Scotland will also make money available; the Welsh approach remains to be seen.
Despite that support, there is still a financial impact on the operator. Ian suggests that there will be maintenance implications on retrofitted buses, and there will also be a slight fuel consumption penalty.
First has thus argued that retrofits should include e-fans as standard to offset the latter.
Passengers will still see the same fleet after retrofit. In essence, there is no commercial benefit to an operator from installing exhaust equipment, although it is a more effective way of upgrading quickly than wholesale fleet replacement.
Both Ian and John advocate central government control of retrofit programmes.
The current ‘bidding war’ approach is unnecessarily bureaucratic and uncertain; they believe instead that the process should be driven from the top down and focus on areas where Euro 6 is essential to focus on air quality compliance.
“My assumption is that as Euro 6 is such a good product in terms of air quality, it’s unlikely that any future Euro 7 or a Euro 8 standards will require materially lower emissions,” says John.
“But what if they do? Or what if one part of the emission criteria changes?” Again, First believes that a roadmap is required that will give all parties certainty. It’s essential, given that operators are making decisions now that will affect fleet composition for 15 years.
SMEs impacted
A potential sticking point with retrofit is its application to oddball vehicles. Where only a small number with a certain drivetrain combination exist, it may not be viable for the kit manufacturers to develop a version to suit them. “That will potentially impact smaller operators disproportionately, because they sometimes have more varied fleets,” adds Ian.
Disposal of such buses may also pose a problem. Although there are 28 areas outside London that have an air quality agenda, John’s discussions with local authorities around the country show that many others are keeping a close eye on the subject, and some are already talking about action.
“Their likelihood of government support is limited. It’s clear what the bus industry would have to do to help them to meet their objectives, but it would represent pure cost. The potential downside in terms of fares and frequencies could be stark,” he says.
What the industry must do is communicate these concerns to decision-makers. On the whole, it has improved that aspect of its game over the past year.
The public money now being provided for retrofit to Euro 6 standards, rather than for procurement of alternative technologies, is evidence of that.
Congestion busting
Air quality goes hand-in-hand with congestion. Momentum around tackling the latter waned with the post-2008 recession, and greater devolution of responsibilities from central government has allowed that to continue despite a strengthening of the economy.
“I feel positive about air quality. With the right support from government we can clean up our act, there is no doubt. That then leaves an opportunity,” says John.
If congestion is tackled, travel on increasingly environmentally-friendly buses becomes more attractive, and a virtuous circle results; for a Euro 6 bus, NOx emissions are more than halved by increasing speed from 6km/h to 8km/h.
Nevertheless, LAs are still failing to get to grips with congestion. Many priority networks do not meet current traffic patterns and local politicians have removed some bus lanes. Too few LAs are delivering a long-term strategy for new bus priority, says John.
The bus industry has lots of challenges, both those that are here already and others that are yet to arrive. But with the right direction, engagement and a can-do approach, it has a lot to be positive about.
“A bit of self-criticism would be that as an industry, we flip into complaint mode too easily. We need to project more and increase our self-confidence. This is a bumpy period, but we should remain confident in our indispensable role in modern society.”