High costs mean new ways are needed to add up the figures for the electric bus

Cities are going greener, and the bus segment has options to play its role in this. Hybrid-diesels have already proven popular, and alternative fuels such as compressed natural gas (CNG) may play a further role. There may yet be life in the cleaner diesel segment too – Dusseldorf recently introduced the first model to carry a Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) device, which can convert up to 90% of the vehicle’s harmful nitrogen oxide emissions into harmless matter. In any case, Euro VI compliant diesels will continue to arrive in cost-constrained developing markets where volumes of buses are still increasing. Twenty years from now, some buses will still use diesel.