A new generation of buses to support more sustainable urban transport policies: A path towards “greener” awareness among bus stakeholders in Europe Maria Vittoria Corazza a, * , Umberto Guida b , Antonio Musso a , Michele Tozzi b a Sapienza University of Rome, DICEA e Dept. of Civil Engineering, Via Eudossiana 18, 00184 Rome, Italy b UITP e International Association of Public Transport, Rue Sainte-Marie 6, 1080 Brussels, Belgium article info Article history: Available online xxx JEL code: R4 Keywords: Bus Energy consumption Emissions Eco-driving abstract EBSF, 3iBS, ZeEUS, EBSF_2 and ELIPTIC are research projects funded by the European Commission, with the aim of developing a new generation of buses across Europe. For all, the common task is two-pronged (i) it is necessary to develop innovative solutions to increase the attractiveness of this mode and (ii) to operate more environmentally-friendly vehicles. Prototypes with more comfortable and accessible in- ternal layouts, advanced ITS-based solutions, new engines designed to save fuel and eco-driving are key working areas. The environmental concern is behind the majority of the tested innovations. These projects are based on demonstrators, that is the innovative measures are tested in real urban environ- ments. The assessment is a classical before-vs-during the implementation of measures comparison. A transferability study is aimed to assess the theoretical exportability of the tested measures across Europe. Results so far stressed contrasting aspects within a common vision for the development of a new gen- eration of buses: although stakeholders are willing to innovate bus fleets by introducing more sus- tainable propulsion systems, conventional modes are still favoured and the environmental concern is not a driver to export the tested measures. The objectives of the paper are to describe such outcomes, identify reasons which prevent a wider exploitation of cleaner buses, provide possible explanations and suggest recommendations to develop “green” awareness among bus stakeholders. © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Scientific literature on the problems due to car-based lifestyles and climate change abounds and among the proposed solutions the promotion of cleaner transit systems and, more specifically, cleaner buses is one of the most recurring. But there is a chasm between what the scientific community postulate, decision-makers plan, environmentally-mindful politicians support and the way bus op- erations are planned and managed in many European countries. By focussing on a set of research projects funded by the European Commission in this decade, this paper outlines the position of a significant group of European transit stakeholders on the use of cleaner vehicles, as a result of the surveys and the innovative measures tested within such projects. Moving from this, the ob- jectives of the paper are to describe in-depth such outcomes, identify reasons behind this result, revise them in view of further assessments and applications beyond these projects' domains, and eventually suggest some recommendations to steer transit opera- tors and managers' decisions towards more sustainable solutions, focussing on three key areas: regulations, costs and knowledge. It is indisputable that the effectiveness of cleaner bus fleets has been long acknowledged worldwide. For example, the C40 Network of Large Cities supports local administrations in improving their Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) systems or introducing new ones. In its recent Clean Bus Declaration, the 22 signatory cities have committed to convert 25% of vehicles in their local fleet into cleaner ones (C40 Cities, 2015). Climate change may also be seen as a way to provide new economic opportunities and among these the devel- opment of integrated solutions that improve energy efficiency in the transport sector (C40 Cities, 2014). Similarly, EMBARQ (a research body within the World Resources Institute) is engaged in boosting the latest BRT innovations through studies and field * Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: mariavittoria.corazza@uniroma1.it (M.V. Corazza), umberto. guida@uitp.org (U. Guida), antonio.musso@uniroma1.it (A. Musso), michele.tozzi@ uitp.org (M. Tozzi). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Research in Transportation Economics journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/retrec http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.retrec.2016.04.007 0739-8859/© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Research in Transportation Economics xxx (2016) 1e10 Please cite this article in press as: Corazza, M. V., et al., A new generation of buses to support more sustainable urban transport policies: A path towards “greener” awareness among bus stakeholders in Europe, Research in Transportation Economics (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/ j.retrec.2016.04.007