A city with half a
million inhabitants would save about SEK 100 million per year if the
city’s buses ran on electricity instead of diesel. This is the finding
from extensive analysis conducted in collaboration between the Volvo
Group and the audit and advisory firm KPMG. The analysis has taken into
consideration such factors as noise, travel time, emissions, energy use,
taxes and the use of natural resources.
“Standard
investment appraisals do not take into account all of the costs that
impact society and the environment. Therefore, to quantify all of the
aspects, we have now calculated the monetary value of an electric bus
line,” says Niklas Gustafsson, Head of Sustainability at the Volvo
Group. “The results show that irrespective of the number of parameters
taken into consideration, electric buses comprise the leading public
transport solution.”
The analysis was based
on a city with about half a million inhabitants and 400 buses. If the
buses were run on electricity instead of diesel, the total annualized
societal saving would be about SEK 100 million. Among other areas, the
savings stem from reduced noise and air pollution, which is estimated to
lead to decreased care costs of up to SEK 24 million. The annual
reduction in carbon dioxide emissions would total 33,000 tons,
corresponding to about 3,000 Swedish households.
“Electric buses
are an excellent example of an innovation that can create substantial
societal values,” says Daniel Dellham, KPMG. “By supplementing standard
financial analysis with socioeconomic and environmental factors, one
arrives at a more complete picture of the investment’s impact on
companies and society.”
In June 2015, an
entirely new electric bus line was opened in Gothenburg with the aim of
developing and testing new solutions for sustainable public transport.
The line is the result of a partnership between the Volvo Group and
several partners from industry, research and society.
“The bus line is one
of the most modern in the world and interest is incredibly high, not
least due to the buses being completely silent and emission-free, and
being run on electricity from wind and hydro power,” says Niklas
Gustafsson. “But the innovation aspect primarily pertains to the
complete transportation system. A system that we can now show meets
society’s socioeconomic and environmental challenges.”
The analysis will be presented at a seminar in New York, on September 26, 2015, at 08:00 a.m. A warm welcome is extended to media representatives who wish to participate. Location: KPMG, 345 Park Avenue, New York, USA
