Helsinki Regional Transport Authority, ‘HSL’ in Finnish, has preliminarily budgeted EUR 1 million for the environmental bonuses in 2014. This autumn, HSL will again hold a bidding for measures to cut emissions from bus fleets. The tendering is based on HSL’s bonus model which takes into account both carbon emissions and harmful local emissions.

   “We have tried to design the bonus model so that HSL could compensate operators for measures that reduce emissions in a flexible and cost-effective manner,” says the Director of HSL’s Transport Services Department Reijo Mäkinen.

   The approved measures have been defined in more detail than in the first round. “The cost/benefit ratio must be such that the value of the emissions removed is higher or at least equal to the price of the bid. In this way the bonus model is as technology neutral as possible and different measures to reduce emissions can be directly compared”.

   Bonuses can be paid for new measures that exceed the commitments set out in the currently valid contracts and bids and for which operators submit separate bids. The best proposed measures will be approved in order of their cost-effectiveness until the total cost reaches the budget limit.

   Operators can get bonus, among others, for using a biofuel, e.g. biogas (biomethane), biodiesel or bioethanol. Bonus is granted only for biofuels derived from waste. Operators can also qualify for the bonus by reducing the amount of fuel consumed and for more efficient exhaust gas purification.

   HSL organized the first competitive bidding for the environmental bonus in summer 2012. HSL has reserved EUR 600,000 for the bonus period running until the end of 2013. The measures will enable HSL to reduce bus transport carbon emissions by 7 per cent, nitrogen oxides by 2.7 percent, and particle emissions by 6 percent annually.