EUROPEAN BUS SYSTEMS OF THE FUTURE (EBSF) EARNS FIRST SUCCESSES FROM EUROPEAN COMMISSION EXPERTS
The EBSF project, undertaken by the European Union and coordinated by the International Association of Public Transport (UITP), successfully completed its First Review Meeting with the European Commission and its experts, presenting the achievements of the first year of the project.
Launched in September 2008 on a four-year basis, the European Bus System of the Future is one of the largest surface transport European projects under the 7th Framework Programme for R&D. It brings together, for the first time, a consortium of 47 partners, including the five leading European bus manufacturers (Evobus/Mercedes, Irisbus Iveco, MAN, Scania, Volvo).
The main objective of the first reporting period was to perform the EBSF whole system definition, starting from a clear picture of the needs of the different bus stakeholders, and including the definition of Key Performance Indicators for the whole system and functional specifications of EBSF subsystems.
The EC congratulated the consortium for the excellent level of technical activities and UITP for the management of a so large and challenging project. EC also provided recommendations for its further development.
EBSF will carry out activities in favour of sustainable mobility, with a particular focus on modal shift and consumption reduction: smart use of energy sources, so that improvement of environmental performance of the Bus services are in the core functions of the future system. The core mission of the project is to develop a more attractive and efficient bus system to speed up the pace of change in urban mobility behaviour.
