German City Chooses Diesel Buses Over Electric, Cites High Costs Even After Subsidies
The hype about green energies being the future is quickly becoming a thing of the past as all the utopian promises made are not coming true as they clash against reality. [emphasis, links added]
The Green movement is turning out to be nothing but a silly LSD fantasy.
The city of Dortmund, Germany, is finding out that electric buses are significantly more expensive than diesel buses, even with government subsidies, reports Blackout News here.
Ordering More Diesel Buses
Due to the high costs, DSW21, a German transit company, is now delaying the full transition to an electric fleet and plans to continue purchasing some diesel buses alongside electric ones.
The plan was to replace the diesel buses with electric vehicles and to operate a largely emission-free fleet by 2035, but that’s looking extremely unlikely.
Diesel Buses Half The Price Of An Electric Bus
Blackout News reports that the costs of switching to electric buses are almost impossible to manage without state funding.
A diesel bus only costs around €400,000 [$432,720], whereas an electric bus costs around €800,000 [$865,440].
This makes the switch to electric vehicles expensive, even with government subsidies.
“Without financial support from the German government, replacing the remaining 155 diesel buses with electric vehicles would cost around 140 million euros [$152 million]. That is almost three times as expensive as purchasing new diesel buses.”
Will Never Meet The 2035 Climate Target
Government subsidies for electric buses are decreasing, thus making the transition over to an electric bus fleet even more challenging.
The EU directives are phasing out diesel-powered buses and by 2035 only emission-free vehicles may then be used. That target is now in jeopardy as the government scales back subsidies.
Vehicle Lifetime Costs Are Likely An Even Bigger Obstacle
The other problem that gets ignored, and is not mentioned in the article, is the maintenance and service costs of the buses. Diesel buses are cheap, reliable, and can run for many years.
Electric buses, on the other hand, require massive batteries, which are exorbitantly expensive. And what value does a seven-year-old electric bus have?
Potential Folly
“The long-term conversion to a zero-emission fleet will be significantly delayed if no further subsidies are made available.
The decision to buy diesel buses again shows how much the industry is dependent on financial support to achieve the climate targets.”
Electric buses are increasingly appearing to be another costly green misadventure, and possibly a complete folly if policymakers refuse to wake up.
See more here Climate Dispatch
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