Overview
The European Bus System of the Future 2 (EBSF_2), coordinated by UITP, combines the efforts of 42 partners. The joint collaboration of industries, operators and authorities allows testing and evaluating a set of technological solutions for improved efficiency of urban and suburban bus systems as well as attractiveness to the users.
The objective of the EBSF_2 project is to validate different innovative solutions that combine efficiency of the bus system with more attractiveness. Such solutions are meant to represent the most innovative in the areas indicated by the Call: the project will proceed to their final validation before their introduction in the market, avoiding pure simulations or large use of prototypes.
Demonstrations in real service in 12 cities (Barcelona, Dresden, Gothenburg, Helsinki, London, Lyon, Madrid, Paris Area, Paris City, Ravenna, San Sebastian, and Stuttgart) address several key areas for innovation:
- energy strategy and auxiliaries
- green driver assistance systems
- IT standards introduction in existing fleets
- vehicle design (capacity, modularity, accessibility)
- intelligent garage and predictive maintenance
- the interface between the bus and urban infrastructures
The technological innovations to be tested within the demonstrations deal with a wide range of bus systems, from BRT to local lines, and all current propulsion technologies. They have been identified according to their technological maturity in order to ensure an easy commercialisation after the project is finished.
Following the System Approach, and with the participation of representatives of all key stakeholders categories, these activities will be introduced by the identification of innovation requirements (that will drive the impact assessment) and the update of the Bus System Definition (as defined in EBSF).
In addition to the impact analysis of the single solutions, the effect of combining key introduction will be evaluated. The “European Bus System of the Future" Roadmap will be updated with areas for further research and priorities linked to the project topics.
Key solutions that still require more steps for a wide acceptance in the market will also be evaluated in the project through the use of prototypes and simulation tools.