Electric public transport has become a common sight in European cities like Brussels and Madrid in recent years. Electric buses, marked by their electric connections, move quietly through the streets and are considered a solution for reducing air pollution.
Air Pollution Challenges in Europe
Michala Le Pira, a transportation professor at the University of Catania in Italy, states that eliminating greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles is one of the simplest strategies to improve public transport. In 2023, nearly 300,000 deaths in the European Union were recorded due to air pollution, levels that exceeded the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO).
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In urban areas of Europe, about 14 percent of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations are attributed to road transport, which includes both public and private transport. Additionally, cities and towns account for nearly a quarter of the EU's transport greenhouse gas emissions.
Development of Electric Buses in European Cities
An analysis based on data from over 100 reports and sources regarding public transport and its emissions shows that only Copenhagen has managed to electrify nearly its entire bus fleet. In contrast, in cities like Rome, Lisbon, and Nicosia, over 90 percent of buses still operate on diesel.
While electric buses make up 20 percent of the total fleet in EU capitals, their numbers have increased by 55 percent between 2021 and 2025. However, the number of diesel buses remains higher. According to data, in 20 out of 31 cities surveyed, over 50 percent of the bus fleets are still traditional.
Brussels, as one of the first cities moving towards phasing out diesel buses, is currently in the process of electrifying its fleet. However, experts say this process is not easy, and selecting the right technology is still challenging.
Considering that transport is the only major economic sector whose greenhouse gas emissions have not decreased since 1990, the European Union aims to reduce this figure by 90 percent by 2050.
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