Summary - Clean Buses UK 2024

Global Mass Transit is organising the third conference on ‘Clean Buses UK’ on October 9 at Hilton London Kensington.

The previous conference, held on September 12, 2023 in London, received a very good response and was attended by participants from nearly 50 organisations. The key participating organisations included: Abellio London, Alexander Dennis, bpp pulse, Bryt Energy, Campaign for Better Transport, Confederation of Passenger Transport, Department for Transport (DfT), EDF Renewables, Element Energy, Ekonergetyka Polska S.A., EO Charging, Envevo Ltd, ESB Group, ESP Utilities Group, Essex County Council, First Bus, Fuel Cell Systems Ltd, Go-Ahead Group, Grayson Thermal Systems, Heliox Energy, HydraB Power Limited, Hydrogen United, Karsan, KPMG UK, JEMA Energy S.A, Journeo plc, Ignite Vehicle Services, Leicester City Council, Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, Lothian Buses Limited, Metroline, Mitsui, MUFG Bank Ltd, PHVC Minibus & Fleet Suppliers, Transport, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), PSI Transcom GmbH, Rock Road, Infrastructure Delivery, Ryze Hydrogen Limited, Southend Borough Council, Southend-on-Sea City Council, Schunk, Stagecoach Bus, SWARCO Smart Charging Ltd, Translink, Transport for London (TfL), Transport for the North, Transport for West Midlands (TfWM), Trueform Manufacturing & Technologies Group, Urban Foresight, Voith Turbo Ltd, Transport and Infrastructure, Warrington Borough Council, Zemo Partnership, Zenobe etc.

The mission of the conference is to discuss the UK government’s plan, programmes and funding to transition to a zero-emission bus (ZEB) fleet, the way forward for local authorities, public transport authorities (PTAs) and public transport operators (PTOs), best practices in transitioning to a ZEB fleet, experience so far and the lessons learned. It will cover plans and opportunities for deployment of electric and hydrogen-fuelled buses and related infrastructure. The conference will also showcase new technologies, tools and solutions.

The conference will bring together local authorities (including county, unitary authorities and combined authorities), public transport authorities, bus service operators, OEMs, suppliers of bus components, technology providers, energy providers, charging solution suppliers and battery manufacturers, hydrogen-fueling infrastructure providers, funding agencies, consultants, researchers, and academicians.

The one-day conference will have eight sessions, panel discussions and case studies, with a wide array of experts providing valuable insights and actionable advice. The agenda will cover the UK government programmes and funding as well as plans of cities, PTAs and PTOs to deploy clean fuel buses in the UK. It will also highlight offerings of leading manufacturers and suppliers as well as the latest technological developments and solutions to improve the customer experience.

There will be a dedicated session on the experiences of leading PTAs and PTOs in the deployment of ZEBs. This will provide an opportunity to learn how to deploy ZEBs and charging/fueling infrastructure, mobilise funding, and manage stakeholder expectations.

UK Government policies and funding for promoting ZEBs
Transitioning to ZEBs: case studies, experience so far and best practices
Plans of local authorities and bus service operators for the deployment of clean buses, ZEBs
Progress in the deployment of electric and hydrogen fuelled buses
Strategies to improve passenger experience and satisfaction
Increasing accessibility both in terms of fare and bus routes
Operator investments and making a business case for ZEB deployment
Total cost of ownership of zero-emission buses
Electric bus charging infrastructure: Innovations, new technologies and infrastructure for large-scale fleets
Hydrogen refuelling stations and infrastructure
Challenges of grid capacity
OEM perspective on hydrogen: Launching new technologies, reducing costs, improving efficiency and commercialising hydrogen
Scaling up OEM infrastructure and building supply chains
Planning for, scheduling of and monitoring ZEBs, fleet management
Clean buses for long-distance operations
Autonomous and electric bus trials
Opportunity for digitalisation
Sourcing green energy
Integration of zero-emission fleet with new mobility (MaaS and AVs)