Integrated Environmental and Economic Life Cycle Assessment of Urban Bus Technologies: A Methodological Framework for Fleet Transition

Abstract:

The transition to sustainable urban public transport requires evaluating propulsion technologies beyond traditional financial metrics. This study proposes an integrated methodological framework that simultaneously assesses the environmental and economic performance of diverse urban bus architectures, including Diesel, Biodiesel, CNG, LNG, Biomethane, and Battery Electric. The methodology combines Environmental Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) with Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) by monetizing environmental externalities to calculate a systemic Life Cycle Cost (LCC). Structured in five modules, the framework translates emissions and resource use into societal costs per passenger-kilometer. The approach demonstrates that internalizing environmental damages significantly alters the comparative competitiveness of alternative technologies, particularly favoring electrification and renewable fuels despite higher initial capital expenditures. This integrated metric provides a robust decision-support tool for policymakers and operators to guide fleet renewal and decarbonization strategies in urban mobility systems.