German cities lag in electric bus adoption, few lead the transition

Research by the Deutsche Umwelthilfe shows that diesel-engine buses still constitute the majority of public-transport fleets across Germany’s 39 biggest cities, with mild-hybrid buses only modestly raising the share of vehicles that receive electric assistance. The report highlights three Baden-Württemberg municipalities—Mannheim (60.6% electric), Freiburg (51.7%) and Karlsruhe (51.6%)—as leaders, each intending to procure only electric buses for new orders through 2030.

Data from the International Council on Clean Transportation indicates that battery electric buses emit far fewer greenhouse gases over their lifetime despite higher production emissions, especially when powered by renewable electricity. Fuel-cell buses appear in only a small fraction of fleets, about 1.5% overall, with Wuppertal operating roughly one-sixth of its buses as hydrogen-fuel-cell units. Cities like Augsburg remain reliant on diesel and biogas purchases, citing infrastructure constraints, while the DUH warns that continued diesel acquisitions could postpone the phase-out of fossil-fuel buses into the 2040s.