Economic Viability of Electric Public Busses: Regional Perspective

The paper discusses the possible economic effect on regional development by developing applicable methodology and analysing differences in costs, both operational costs and initial investments, of two types of buses serving urban public transportation systems – diesel fuelled internal combustion engine bus and battery electric bus. Comparison of initial investments to operate the both types of buses shows large initial investments involved when electric energy is being added/used. At the same time operational costs, including energy costs, show opposite picture, especially with large annual distances covered – electrical energy is substantially cheaper. The research shows, that within current state of affairs in Latvia, initial investments of changing public transportation fleet to electric buses and the costs of battery replacement still outweighs the monetary advantages gained from lower operational costs and additional environmental benefits.