Clean Bus Technologies and the Cost-Effectiveness of Emissions Reductions in Latin America

The transport sector in Latin America accounts for over one-third of CO2 emissions. Shifting passengers from private vehicles to high capacity public transit has been identified as critical to relieve congestion and decarbonize transport, and switching to cleaner bus technologies can provide additional benefits in mitigating greenhouse gas emissions while reducing noise and air pollution. The uptake of clean bus technologies in Latin America and the Caribbean is slower than in China, Europe, and the U.S.A. This paper focuses on deepening understanding of the financial barriers to adopting clean bus technologies by developing a cost-effectiveness analysis that (i) assesses the marginal cost of reducing an additional ton of CO2 when switching from diesel buses to clean bus options and (ii) identifies the main drivers that determine this cost. The methodology has been applied to Santiago, the capital city of Chile, and results show that, given the current context, compressed natural gas is not a cost-efficient option for this city, while both hybrid electric and electric buses are already a cost-efficient option to mitigate climate change.

• Record URL:
  https://doi.org/10.1177/0361198119828684
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/03611981
• Authors:
  • Pérez-Prada, Fiamma
  • Alves, Bianca Bianchi
  • Sethi, Kavita
  • Barrés, Diego Puga
  • Qiu, Yin
• Publication Date: 2019-8

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 136-144
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board
  • Volume: 2673
  • Issue Number: 8
  • Publisher: Sage Publications, Incorporated
  • ISSN: 0361-1981
  • EISSN: 2169-4052
  • Serial URL: http://journals.sagepub.com/home/trr

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Alternatives analysis; Carbon dioxide; Compressed natural gas; Cost effectiveness; Diesel buses; Electric buses; Pollutants
• Geographic Terms: Latin America; Santiago (Chile)
• Subject Areas: Energy; Environment; Finance; Highways; Public Transportation; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01702382
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: 19-05434
• Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
• Created Date: Apr 22 2019 1:44PM