Tallinn’s plan to switch to public transport that does not use fossil fuels by 2035 is still valid, however, the war in Ukraine and the energy crisis have introduced their own changes, writes ERR News.
Tallinn municipality is about to decide which vehicles will be a priority in the next decade, and what guidelines and investment promises will be made to the city’s public transport operator TLT.
The long-term plan to switch to electric buses until 2035 remains in effect, however, the energy crisis has made both councilors and TLT management seriously stressed. When gas prices rose, TLT expanded the use of diesel buses and still does. Initially, TLT wanted to use vehicles with gas equipment until the transition to electric buses.
Tanel Kiik, deputy mayor of Tallinn responsible for transport, told ERR: «The city’s goal is to gradually move towards more environmentally friendly public transport alternatives. This stands for gas buses for the transition period, and development of electric transport, whether we’re talking about tram lines, new trams, trolleybuses, or electric coaches. However, we cannot rule out having to update the existing fleet in the interim. In the long run,
the relative importance of diesel buses will fall and that of CNG buses grow.»
Kiik noted that the development plan of the municipality, which also includes giving up fossil fuel by 2035, was created before the war, and it is necessary to analyze whether it is a realistic goal now.
The head of TLT, Kaido Padar, stated that the company, together with the Tallinn Department of Transport, created various scenarios for the costs and requirements of public transport development – both in the case of expanding tram lines and for the option of electric buses.
Padar did not want to talk in more detail about different scenarios and their costs, and this shows that achieving «green» goals has become more difficult. Kiik pointed out that decisions should be made already this spring so that TLT knows in which direction to work. However, he added that the city lacks the knowledge to make informed decisions.
Tallinn has three options for electric transport without the use of trams:
maintain and expand trolleybus traffic, replace trolleybuses with electric buses, or maintain both trolleybus and bus traffic.
Potential power outages and natural gas shortages were discussed as real possibilities last fall, and Padar confirmed that TLT was prepared for both. When the price of natural gas rose sharply, diesel buses were taken out of the garages, and this helped the company save about 400 thousand euros.
Currently, the most option for the city money-wise would be diesel buses. However, this is against the city’s long-term plans, especially when Tallinn has been declared the European Green Capital. Padar said: «The cheapest option would be to procure diesel buses and use them for the next 11 years – there is a solid second-hand market, you can always replace them and they are keenly priced. However, looking at the long perspective. .. this is what we need to discuss.»
TLT currently uses 540 buses, of which 350 run on gas and the rest run on diesel. A tender for the purchase of 15 electric buses is ongoing. Padar noted that it is necessary to decide what to buy so that the tender can be announced already this year.
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