Germany’s second-largest city, Hamburg, had declared the commissioning of a larger series of diesel buses in 2020 to mark the end of the procurement of vehicles with combustion engines for public transport. By 2030, only electric buses were expected to operate on the streets of the Hanseatic city. However, around two years ago, this target had already to be postponed, with the new goal set for the early 2030s. A major reason for this has been the lack of public funding from the federal government. This target is now being pushed back even further.
At present, 432 of the fleet’s more than 1,100 buses operated by Hamburg’s largest public transport company, Hamburger Hochbahn AG (HHA), are battery-electric. By 2031, a further 240 electric buses are due to enter service, bringing the proportion of electric vehicles in the fleet to around 60%. An existing framework agreement with Daimler Buses covers up to 350 eCitaro and eCitaro G models equipped with NMC3 batteries, offering a range of just under 300 kilometres for single-deck buses and around 250 kilometres for articulated buses. The agreement is therefore unlikely to be fully utilised.
At the same time, the expansion of charging and workshop infrastructure is continuing with substantial investment.
Again new diesel buses
Departing from its previous strategy, HHA will also procure diesel buses again, with up to 150 vehicles planned. As a key reason, Hochbahn cites the need for a flexible bus fleet capable of responding to different operational scenarios. In light of the challenging geopolitical situation, the war in Ukraine, and global challenges in the energy sector, Hochbahn has reassessed its responsibilities in the areas of civil protection and crisis preparedness in order to ensure that public transport remains as resilient and operationally capable as possible, even in emergency situations – as per official press announcement of the company.
HVO fuels
These buses will operate using HVO fuels, which are produced from biogenic residual and waste materials – such as used cooking oils and animal fats – through hydrogenation with the addition of hydrogen. Since January 2026, Hochbahn has been gradually converting its existing diesel bus fleet to operate on HVO fuels in order to further reduce calculated CO₂ emissions.
Nevertheless, the company intends to maintain its long-term core objective of consistently expanding its electric bus fleet.
