The EPA’s latest “Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards for Heavy-Duty Vehicles”, now in its third phase, stipulates the maximum permitted emissions in grams per ton-mile that will be allowed for each subcategory of vehicle – divided according to its weight and application.

The 1,000th ‘Saf-T-Liner C2 Jouley’ electric vehicle was delivered as part of an order for 8 electric school buses, which were reportedly funded through the ‘Clean School Bus’ federal grant programme.

Delegates of Hydrogen UK’s annual conference, held at the National Conference Centre in Birmingham on 12 March, left the event with no doubts about the future of the burgeoning hydrogen economy. Opening the conference, Clare Jackson, CEO of Hydrogen UK, declared that “net zero is not possible without hydrogen”. The burning question is, will the UK have any significant part in its development?

According to Motiv, the electric shuttle bus received an overall score of 89.1 out of 100, which it claims is the highest score ever achieved for a medium-duty electric bus tested in a 7 year / 200,000 miles or higher service-life category.

Under this recognition certification, Tata Motors can now claim incentives to enhance and expand production of M3 category3 electric buses.

The German Ministry of Transport confirmed to local media, that this is the last time the federal government funds or subsidises e-buses or e-trucks. Funds allocated for projects up until 2027 will remain. A combination of high inflation, energy instability (gas supply from Russia) and a downturn in productivity has resulted in the German government revising its 2024 economic forecast down from 1.3% to just 0.2%.

For the first time, the legislation covers cars, vans, and heavy-duty vehicles in one single piece of legislation. The above-mentioned agreement retains the Euro 6 emissions limits for cars and vans but adds stricter limits for buses and trucks, whilst introducing new limits for particles emitted from the exhaust, tyres and brakes.

From 7 July this year, all newly registered vehicles in the European Union must comply with the second tranche of rules known as the ‘General Safety Regulation’ (“GSR II”). These regulations will require all new road vehicles to be installed with more advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) which employ some of the latest innovations being made at the cutting edge of artificial intelligence. These include systems for intelligent speed assistance; reversing detection with cameras and/or sensors; attention warnings in case of driver drowsiness or distraction; event data recorders; and emergency stop signals.

While the city of Jakarta commits to being fully electric by 2030, the Indonesian and South Korean governments have signed a bilateral cooperation agreement to develop a public transportation network using battery-powered buses across cities in Indonesia.

Through the 'Low- or No-Emission' and 'Grants for Buses and Bus Facilities' programmes, the government is offering USD1.1m and USD390,000 in grant money respectively.

The importance of fire suppression systems in vehicles can be seen first-hand in January this year, with an electric double-decker bus catching fire in Wimbledon, UK.

Initially, the self-driving shuttle will transport passengers around the campus, before being incorporated later in the year into the service to and from the NRG station.