Nuremberg ranks fourth for electric buses as Augsburg comes last

Nuremberg ranks fourth among Germany’s large cities for electric buses, while Augsburg came last in a new ranking by environmental group Deutsche Umwelthilfe, BR reports.

The ranking puts electric buses at 48.1 per cent of Nuremberg’s route-bus fleet, making the city the top performer in Bavaria. Mannheim led the 39 cities surveyed, with a share of 60.6 per cent. Munich ranked 14th, with 16.7 per cent.

Nuremberg’s public transport operator, VAG, said 123 electric buses were in service when the study was conducted, representing about 60 per cent of its roughly 200 buses. A further 21 vehicles have since been delivered and are being brought into service, taking the electric fleet to 144 buses, or 70 per cent, VAG said.

VAG began operating its first electric bus in 2018 and says it started developing an electric-bus strategy in 2016. It plans to switch its entire bus fleet to electric power by 2030. Munich, like Nuremberg, also plans to stop buying combustion-engine buses.

Augsburg was among five cities in the ranking with no battery-electric buses. Its buses have run on biogas, a renewable energy source, since 2011. Deutsche Umwelthilfe criticised the city’s public transport operator for continuing to buy combustion-engine buses, including 30 new biogas buses to replace older vehicles.

An Augsburg operator spokesperson said those buses were still needed because the infrastructure for electric buses was taking time to build. The city has ordered 15 electric buses and plans to convert its entire bus fleet to electric power by 2038.