As cities worldwide grapple with the impacts of air pollution, traffic congestion, climate change, and extreme weather, the need for safer and cleaner urban transport systems is an imperative. Buses are the starting point for this change. They are not only the backbone of public transport, moving millions of people every day, but they also have the potential to significantly improve public health and quality of life for everyone in our cities.

Modern electric buses, or e-buses, provide a superior passenger and driver experience through smoother rides, quieter operations, and enhanced thermal comfort, while also facilitating the integration of digital tools to improve operations and monitoring. This shift leads to more livable and equitable cities for all urban communities, particularly when transport systems are electrified to reduce emissions and complemented by transit-oriented development policies.

Recognizing the transformational potential and urgent need for more e-buses on the roads, the TUMI E-Bus Mission was launched in 2021 by the Transformative Urban Mobility Initiative (TUMI), with support from the German government and GIZ in partnership with leading mobility and development organizations, including ITDP, C40 Cities, the International Council on Clean Transportation, the World Resources Institute, ICLEI, UITP, and others.

Over four years, the mission supported more than 20 “deep-dive” cities and 100 “mentee” cities across countries in the Global South, helping them scale up their e-bus ambitions and build a foundation for long-term transition. By providing technical assistance, capacity building, knowledge exchange, and advocacy, the TUMI E-Bus Mission helped bridge the critical gap between policy and implementation. At ITDP, the mission became a crucial platform for deepening and expanding our essential work on public transport electrification across multiple regions.

For example, ITDP Brazil’s research and policy advocacy in Brazil played a vital role in the federal government’s decision to increase its investment in e-buses from R$3 billion to R$10.5 billion through an innovative national infrastructure program, known as the NovoPAC. Our teams also supported fleet planning and regulatory reform in cities like Rio de Janeiro, where the mission laid the groundwork for ongoing projects to integrate electric buses into a new public transport concession.

Elsewhere in Latin America, ITDP provided financial modeling and total cost of ownership analysis to support the city of Monterrey, Mexico, as it implemented its first fleet of 110 electric buses. In February 2025, ITDP also held a national workshop in Mexico, where over 100 participants, including local and federal officials, industry experts, and civil society organizations, came together to discuss electrification strategies and exchange lessons to prepare Mexican cities for a smooth national transition.

ITDP India’s roadmap for Pune directly informed the city’s official Comprehensive Mobility Plan, which now includes a target of 8,000 buses by 2030. ITDP’s technical inputs — from performance-based contracting strategies to depot planning — have been critical in building the city’s capacity to manage the electrification process. In Indonesia, our team continues to support the development of Jakarta’s citywide bus electrification strategies by contributing to fleet evaluation methodologies and delivering capacity-building sessions to strengthen local implementation.

In Africa, ITDP Africa partnered with NaMATA, Nairobi’s transport agency, to ensure gender inclusion in the city’s first fully electric Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor. By collecting gender-disaggregated data and developing inclusive design guidelines, our work has not only influenced the planning of BRT Line 3 but also established a replicable model for other African cities. Elsewhere in the region, in Kampala, Uganda, ITDP supported the design of an e-bus procurement framework and facilitated a capacity-building study tour to India for local officials, promoting cross-national knowledge exchange.

As the mission’s efforts conclude, ITDP will continue to build on the momentum of this initiative and strengthen our partners’ relationships. While we remain committed to advancing the e-bus agenda through research and pilot implementation, we are also intensifying our support to cities and countries in shaping effective business models, charging strategies, and regulatory frameworks that make electrification scalable. With local and national governments increasingly prioritizing e-buses, ITDP and its mission partners will continue to expand the foundations for long-term global success, including better integration between demand-side measures and supply-side enablers, such as industrial policies and manufacturing regulations.

“The TUMI E-Bus Mission was never just about electric buses. It was about empowering cities and institutions to spearhead the transition towards sustainable mobility,” emphasized Jens Giersdorf, TUMI’s Management Head. “By establishing a robust global network and supporting cities amid this transition, we’ve significantly hastened the change where it’s most needed.”

“When many organizations come together with a shared vision, real transformation becomes possible. The TUMI E-Bus Mission proved that coordinated action is not only more powerful — it’s essential,” said Beatriz Rodrigues, Global Public Transport and Electrification Manager at ITDP, as she reflected on the four years of the mission. “Electrifying public transport is about energy transition, but it’s also about climate justice, transformative public transport, resilience, and the right to breathe clean air.”

Looking ahead, the TUMI E-Bus Mission has taught us a crucial lesson: the transition to e-buses is a journey that demands time and resource commitment. Cities need to plan, adapt, and build capacity, while governments and funders must ensure that support remains steadfast, especially during the crucial early stages of progress. Sustained investment, long-term partnerships, and unified advocacy are the key drivers that will keep this movement going strong.