6. What insights has working within TWG4 delivered? A summary of the insights each region has come to, in working on the project of eBussed, and especially in working within TWG4.
Turku The work done in TWG4 has shown that public transport is organized in very different ways in a different countries and regions, which sets each region in different position when major changes, like e-buses, are introduced into the system. Analysis of the value chains and relevant actors in each of the six eBussed regions made it possible to understand these differences and make meaningful comparisons. Transition to electric public transport changes significantly the cost structure in bus operation shifting the weight from Operating Expenses (OPEX) to Capital Expenditures (CAPEX). This new cost structure brings uncertainties into profitability calculations. In each region, the value chain defines what kind of role each actor has in the change and risk-bearing. It also sets the framework in which the public transport authority can manage the change. To achieve a smooth and rapid shift to electric public transport, used tools and practices have to be selected based on the regional value chain and its actors.
Hamburg In Hamburg, four Stakeholder meetings were held in semester 4. During these meetings, Stakeholders were involved by cooperatively working on ‘jam boards’ to share and discuss challenges, good practices and lessons learned. The main aspects regarding financial topics were tender procedures and funding. It was mentioned that the European-wide tenders are very bureaucratic and complex. It is especially complex regarding the topic of e-mobility because there is still a lack of insight and experience of the requirements and therefore of the design and content of the tender documents. Further meetings are envisaged in the form of interviews with selected stakeholders, to enable going further into detail.
Gozo The first thing learned from the eBussed project about procurement was that procurement processes are different in all the participating countries of this project. There are of course some baseline similarities but the more we discussed the Procurement Process, Tendering and Financial matters during our regular TWG4 meetings, the more was learned about the different approaches that each country takes towards procurement of electric buses. This 34
