Bus Fleet Electrification
Hitachi ZeroCarbon offers an end-to-end, financed, risk-sharing partnership approach to bus fleet electrification.
Electrification is the number one challenge for bus fleet managers today. Soon it will no longer be possible to buy new ICE buses, and low emission zone charges will make it increasingly costly to run them. The pressure is on to transition to electric buses soon, and yet there are real challenges to overcome. Fleet managers are unsure of the best approach to take on the journey to net zero, with real concerns about investment costs, vehicle choice, charging infrastructure, battery technology and operational impact.
Hitachi’s goal is to help drive bus fleet decarbonisation and net zero fleet operations by delivering an “as-a-service” end-to-end solution covering the physical assets (vehicle, charging infrastructure, battery), operational and maintenance services enabled by digital solutions, to meet environmental goals for clients.
We achieve this by adapting the approach taken by Hitachi in rail operations encompassing trains as a service, SPVs and 27-year agreements, to build a similar as-a-service solution for buses with payment per vehicle/month/mile for the vehicles and infrastructure against the following outcomes:
- Availability of vehicles on the road i.e. not off-road, under maintenance or inoperable
- Service ready and optimised fleet with sufficient battery charge for the required bus route
- Well serviced, clean, and operational fleet with performance guarantees
- Charger availability at the depot to ensure that the vehicles receive the required charge
- Single payment approach with clear, consistent, and well-presented utilisation billing
- Simple payment approach to all charging in and out of depot, including access to other chargers
Expertise for Your Zero-Carbon Journey
The road to full bus fleet electrification is not straightforward and requires new skills and understanding. Finding a suitable long-term partner with the appropriate broad experience and financial strength, to support bus fleet operators through the transition process from strategic planning to realisable saving is vital.
With its unparalleled experience of vehicle fleet management, charging infrastructure, IT business solutions, capital financing and long term, risk sharing partnerships, Hitachi is the partner of choice for fleet managers to plan, manage and share the risk on the path to net zero.
