To prepare for the requirements of Clean Vehicles Directive, the tendering process was modified to reward directive compatible vehicles with extra points.
The Clean Vehicles Directive (CVD) came into effect in August 2021 and set the minimum requirements in public procurements on the number of clean vehicles and especially fully electric vehicles.
In the city of Turku, public transport is procured from several private bus operators, and meeting the requirements of the directive requires adjusting the procurement process. Operation contracts are divided into several packages consisting of the operation of one or more bus lines.
Despite the rapid technical development and decreasing cost, e-buses have still limitations regarding range and lifetime costs. This leads to e-buses being financially and technically feasible on many bus lines but not all of them. Due to this, Turku Region Public Transport Föli did not set minimum requirements for e-buses in the tenders but instead implemented a points system where CVD compatible buses are awarded extra points. This gives the tenderers the possibility to analyze the procured bus line and evaluate how suitable it is to be operated with e-buses.
The points system was first introduced in May 2020 and has been used in every procurement since. The practice has been very successful, the number of e-buses contracted has met the upcoming directive requirements and the price of operating contracts has not increased but in fact, decreased. Operating contracts are tendered using this points system as the previous contracts expire, so the change will happen in the course of several years.
Resources needed
The practice was implemented as internal development with Föli's own personnel and existing resources. Implementing the practice did not require additional funding and did not raise the cost of procured operation, either.
Evidence of success
After this practice was implemented, the share of e-buses in tenders has increased significantly and the number of e-buses in operation went from 6 to 61 e-buses. However, this has not led to higher contract prices, but on the contrary, the new prices have been 5-10 % cheaper than the old contracts.
The results are encouraging, and at the moment it seems that no new changes in the procurement are needed in order to achieve the requirements of CVD and local climate strategies.
Potential for learning or transfer
This practice is transferrable to other regions where public transport operation is procured using competitive bidding. In addition to the price, extra points are awarded for each CVD compliant bus offered. In the points system, points for vehicles are awarded based on whether the offered vehicle is zero or low-emission and whether it is new or used.
By using this kind of incentive instead of an absolute e-bus requirement, the transition can be done on market terms, allowing operators to offer electric buses on the routes where they think they are best suited. As experience from Turku shows, this can lead to good results and even decreased costs.
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Tags: Electromobility, Green public procurement, Public procurement, Public transport
