Is the public willing to pay for hydrogen buses? A comparative study of preferences in four cities

Abstract

This paper presents results from the international AcceptH2 study ( http://www.accepth2.com) of acceptability and preferences for hydrogen fuel cell (FC) buses. Using the contingent valuation method, this paper compares public willingness to pay (WTP) for the air pollution reductions associated with a scenario of large-scale introduction of hydrogen (H 2) FC buses in four cities: Berlin, London, Luxembourg and Perth. Results indicate that bus users in all cities have a positive WTP for H 2 buses, and that values (adjusted to the cost of living in each city) are very similar across geographical locations (ranging from WTP an extra €0.29 to €0.35 per single bus fare). Non-bus users were also interviewed in London and Perth, in order to capture values for the whole populations in these cities. Combined results for bus users and non-bus users confirm that overall residents in these cities are willing to pay extra (in taxes) to support the large-scale introduction of H 2-buses.