The need to address climate change, improve energy independence and improve the competitiveness of industry encourages European countries to promote energy policies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, by increasing the use of renewable energy sources (RES) and promoting energy efficiency. In this context, the reduction of traffic and the improvement of air quality in densely populated areas are strategies pursued by several cities including through innovative solutions based on vehicles powered by alternative fuels, both for private and public transport. Among the latter, e-buses are mainly distinguished by extremely advanced technologies (e.g. ‘flash charging’) and disruptive adoption by public transport companies in some large European cities. However, many public authorities are held back in their decisions because of the lack of a broad vision of the viability of each solution. The document aims to provide an overview of the economic evaluation of the adoption of electric buses, comparing the most common alternatives. Due to its complexity and rapid evolution, the Italian local public transport (LPT) framework is taken as a reference.