Comparative life cycle impact assessment of electric and conventional bus in Vietnam

Abstract

Transportation is one of the key sectors causing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and air pollution. With the substantial increase in passenger and freight transportation, the corresponding GHG emissions and air pollutants are expected to increase significantly. Recent global and national policies are targeting at reducing environmental impacts of transportation activities. The promotion of public transportation and development of electric buses (e-buses) will reduce the use of fossil fuels in transportation, and consequently, reduce GHG emissions. This study assesses the life cycle GHG emissions and other environmental impacts of e-bus, and compares them with those of conventional bus operated in Vietnam. The results indicate that e-bus is a preferred choice in most of studied environmental impact categories over the whole life cycle such as GHG emission, ozone depletion, ozone formation, fine particulate matter formation, acidification, etc. For GHG emissions, the adoption of electric mobility will reduce 42.62 gCO(2)eq per passenger km of carbon footprint if conventional buses are substituted by e-buses in Vietnam.