Comparison of CO2 emission of urban public transport per passenger between Dresden and Bremen

Abstract

Urban public transportation is by governments seen as one of the main ways to reduce the congestion and air pollution in cities. The tram is returning in the streets of cities in the USA and governments are investing to expand the public transport and make it more environmental friendly. One of the main indicators of how clean a city is, is the amount of CO2 emitted. Two German cities are being compared in this article, which are similar in terms of population. The amount of CO2 emitted per passenger kilometre is the main factor of this article. In order to establish probable causes of a higher of lower emission, the cities are compared on several factors such as their bus fleets, network and population density. The results show that the cities, however a difference in fleet composition, are strikingly similar in the amount of CO2 emitted per passenger kilometre. Average vehicle occupancy does not seem to be the cause for the slightly higher emission of Bremen, since this is similar. Advised is to research the power source of Dresden’s electric vehicles, the CO2 emission in other cities and the exact division of the passenger kilometres per bus and tram.