What are the needs and prospects in France for the transition of coaches to zero-emission technologies? France Hydrogène and Avere-France have published a study that presents the coach market, the supply of zero-emission vehicles, the solutions envisaged by the different Regions, the obstacles encountered but also the levers to be activated so that battery-electric and hydrogen solutions penetrate the passenger transport market in France more quickly (1).
Sur a fleet of 66,000 coaches in operation in France, 90% are divided between school transport and regular lines. The remaining 10% provide tourist transport or freely organized service.
A non-decarbonized park
Nearly 90% of the French coach fleet (school and regular lines) is operated under the authority of regional councils. The Regions rarely own the coaches, which are more than 90% owned by 3,000 private companies, including many SMEs and SMIs that operate half of the vehicles in the French fleet. The carriers, who purchase the coaches, respond to public contracts or public service delegations (DSP) to operate them on regular and school lines.
Today, while the French coach fleet represents twice as many vehicles as bus fleets, only around a hundred zero-emission coaches in rolling service(2) will be operated in France in 2023. In comparison, 1,500 zero-emission buses were in circulation on 1is January 2022(3). The environmental regulations on the coach segment in 2023 are not very restrictive, unlike those on the bus segment, which partly explains why almost all coaches still operate today with diesel engines (98%).
Battery and hydrogen electric coaches
The first deployments of battery-powered electric coaches were initiated in 2017 in several French territories. Their operational performances are aligned with the operating needs of school transport, or lines requiring a daily autonomy of up to 250 km, and recharging at the depot. The most recent models offer autonomy prospects of up to 400 km.
From 2024, the first hydrogen coaches will be operated with a range of up to 1,000 km. At the same time, by the end of 2023 or the beginning of 2024, the retrofitted coaches that will be deployed will have ranges of 300 to 500 km, for refueling times of 10 to 15 minutes.
French Regions are considering the transition to zero-emission coaches, including battery-electric and hydrogen-powered coaches. Around 36,000 coaches travelling less than 200 km/day could switch to battery-electric, 15,000 travelling more than 250 km/day to hydrogen-electric, while 15,000 require further analysis to determine the best solution. Regions are showing increasing interest in these technologies, but their transition rate to zero emissions is still limited, with varying targets by 2030.
Which levers to activate?
The electric coach sector is currently at an embryonic stage of deployment that can be explained by a certain number of obstacles: a non-incentive regulatory context, a limited supply of new vehicles, a significant additional cost, or an electric or hydrogen charging infrastructure that does not cover the territory. To accelerate the decarbonization of the sector, several levers must be activated quickly to promote the deployment of electric coaches on a larger scale:
RPlacing the coach segment at the heart of environmental policies by publishing a more ambitious national roadmap on the timetable for the deployment of zero-emission coaches and by systematically implementing appropriate selection criteria in public calls for tender to reward operators offering zero-emission alternatives.
Providing visibility to manufacturers to develop their offering and consolidate a European sector by giving them visibility on demand, and this through regulatory levers. At the same time, the supply of retrofitted battery and hydrogen vehicles can be a short-term solution to compensate for the lack of supply of new vehicles and which must be encouraged through a relaxation of regulatory constraints, and their addition to the catalogs of purchasing centers.
Support investment in zero-emission technologies at the emerging market stage to reduce additional costs
The additional cost of zero-emission coaches remains a major obstacle to the adoption of these solutions on a large scale in the territory. Purchase aids but also support for Opex, in particular via the incentive tax on the use of renewable energy in transport (Tiruert) could allow a reduction in the price of energy sources – hydrogen as well as electricity.
Supporting operators in the context of public procurement renewals and public service delegations by increasing the duration of the contracts offered, as suggested by the National Federation of Passenger Transport (FNTV)(4), to promote the sustainability of businesses and jobs, and ensure investment in alternative solutions to diesel.
Plan the deployment of charging infrastructure to provide visibility to operators.
The deployment of a publicly accessible infrastructure according to a clear timetable across the national territory, to ensure visibility on the availability of electric charging and hydrogen refueling capacities in France, is essential. The European AFIR regulation which will come into force in April 2024 will help to remove this barrier.
Notes
(1) To construct this study, discussions were held with manufacturers and retrofit stakeholders, operators, associations of passenger transport representatives, as well as with key contracting authorities, the Regions. Ten of them contributed by responding to a survey dedicated to the coach fleets of the companies to which they delegate their operations.
(2) Note on the terminology used in the study: throughout the document, so-called “zero-emission” vehicles refer to battery-electric or hydrogen-electric vehicles that emit no pollutants from the exhaust. This terminology refers to the term commonly used at the European level. In some French texts, the terms “very low-emission vehicles” are also used.
(3) Data and Statistical Studies Service (SDES). Data on the fleet of vehicles in circulation as of 1is January 2022.
(4) FNTV (2020), Public contracts for road passenger transport.
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LAvere-France is the national association for the development of electric mobility. Created in 1978 to represent the entire ecosystem of electric mobility in the industrial, commercial, institutional or associative fields, its objective is to ensure the promotion of the use of electric and rechargeable hybrid vehicles. It currently brings together more than 270 members. Avere-France pilots the Advenir program, which finances the deployment of charging stations as part of the energy saving certificates of the Ministry of Energy Transition, in conjunction with Ademe. It is one of the main support mechanisms for the development of electric vehicle charging points in France. At the same time, the Advenir program informs and raises awareness about electric mobility among the general public, elected officials and local stakeholders as well as real estate professionals. It has been renewed until 2025. |
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