Buses World News

ALTERNATIVE FUELS * Australia: Compressed Natural Gas

* Victoria - Caltex has launched its first Compressed Natural Gas refuelling facility at a service station

-- Caltex recently marked the opening of its first Australian service station to offer Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), with the Caltex Star Mart site in Tullamarine, Victoria, now offering the alternative alongside its mainstream fuels... Caltex Australia has partnered with AGL Energy Limited to bring the niche fuel to the site, spearheading a push to develop a wider network – first in Australia's eastern states, then nationally... The alternative fuel is essentially natural gas compressed to less than one per cent of its normal volume at standard atmospheric pressure. It's said to be a cleaner-burning and more cost-effective option when compared to regular fuels... But with the exception of the bus industry, CNG as an alternative fuel has been largely overlooked in Australia. However, if Caltex and AGL are successful, it seems Australia will soon be following most other parts of the developed world in adding CNG to existing fuel options, which in turn could well hasten the local introduction of CNG passenger cars...
(Pictured: Toll's trucks at Caltex refuelling station) -- Tullamarine, VIC, Australia - Motoring, by Rod Chapman - 25 September 2015

Labels: alternative fuels, CNG buses

CNG BUSES * USA: Sun Tran

* Arizona - New CNG buses for Sun Tran fleet

(Photo - New CNG Sun Tran buses)
Tucson,AZ,USA -The Tucson News Now, by Elizabeth Walton -Jun 26, 2014: -- Passengers may notice a change in several of the Sun Tran buses they ride, the fleet will soon have 24 buses that use compressed natural gas, according to a recent release... These new buses use a newer CNG engine, which produces lower emissions than standard fuel and older CNG buses; they will replace the 14-year-old CNG fueled vehicles that are currently being used... Other enhanced features of the new buses are low-floor, ramps and kneeling features to allow for more convenient boarding of passengers with disabilities; as an added safety feature the buses will have on-board cameras...

Labels: CNG buses

CNG BUSES * WORLDWIDE

* Australia - Bus fires threaten CNG bus fleet in Perth

(Picture by Damien Kelly/Twitter - The Transperth bus bursts into flames on around 6.20am)
Perth,WA,Australia -Busworld (Belgium) -31 March 2013: -- The Australian city of Perth may have its fleet of gas-fuelled buses to be taken off the road if unexplained fires continue to threaten safety. The warning from the Public Transport Authority comes after a Mercedes-Benz bus caught fire and was badly damaged as it was about to be refuelled at the Welshpool depot on Sunday night... The bus is one of more than 500 in the Transperth fleet fuelled by compressed natural gas. It was the third major fire on a gas-fuelled bus in the past four months - with a total damage bill of about $1.5 million - and one of at least 14 fires in the past five years, according to an article in a local newspaper... The PTA will increase the number of nozzles, from seven to eleven, that dispense the fire suppression fog...

* Mexico - CNG bus fleet and filling station for Mexican state of Jalisco

(Picture: New CNG buses)
Guadalajara,Jalisco,MEX -Busworld (Belgium) -20 April 2013: -- The Mexican State of Jalisco recently opened a new Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) filling station, to service the State’s first fleet of CNG buses. The vehicles acquired are fifty Dina-manufactured model Linner G public transport units, which began operations between El Salto and Guadalajara. The local government claims the buses will reduce air pollution by 90% and save 50% of the cost of fuel, in comparison with diesel-engined buses. Purchased by Autotransportes Guadalajara El Salto, the Dina buses are powered by Cummins Westport ISL G engines with a power of 250 HP at 2200 revs. Each bus has four Type III carbon fiber-on-aluminum compressed natural gas fuel cylinders from Luxfer. The range per filling is a reported 900 kilometers, or 560 miles...

Labels: CNG buses

CNG BUSES * USA - Norwich Public Utilities shows off 'green' fleet

Alternative Fuel Vehicles powered by natural gas, biodiesel, and electric hybrid technology

(Photo from masslive: Vehicles that run on compressed natural gas - Yankee Gas' Honda, at left; Yellow Cab's taxi, right; and, in the middle, Navistar's 25-foot, 4,000-pound-capacity electric delivery truck - on Oct. 28 at the Connecticut Clean Fuels and Vehicles Technology Expo at the Connecticut Expo Center in Hartford)

Hartford,CONN,USA -The Day -5 Feb 2011: -- In an effort to help expand the Clean Cities program to more locations throughout Connecticut, Norwich Public Utilities hosted a delegation from the Yankee Gas Co. this week, displaying its fleet of Alternative Fuel Vehicles and fueling stations and educating the Yankee Gas representatives about how to integrate such technology into its own fleet... NPU currently maintains a fleet of Alternative Fuel Vehicles powered by natural gas, biodiesel, and electric hybrid technology... Since 1995, Norwich Public Utilities has maintained a fleet of more than 30 Alternative Fuel Vehicles. It operates the only 24 hour, publicly accessible compressed natural gas fueling station in southeastern Connecticut...

Labels: alternative fuels, CNG buses, green fuel

CNG * South Korea - Bus explosion unnerves citizens

The compressed natural gas-powered vehicle exploded at northeastern Seoul

Seoul, S. Korea -The Korea Times, by Bae Ji-sook -10 Aug 2010: -- Investigators examine the exploded parts of a bus Tuesday, a day after the compressed natural gas-powered vehicle exploded at a crossroad of Haengdang-dong subway station, northeastern Seoul... The explosion of the compressed natural gas (CNG)-powered public transit bus on a street in Seoul, Monday, is seeing mounting anxiety among commuters as they express concerns over safety... The city government vowed to conduct safety checkups on all 7,234 CNG buses in operation by the end of the month and the Ministry of Knowledge Economy advised CNG bus drivers to lower the gas pressure by 10 percent when recharging... Police said Monday’s explosion, which injured 17 passengers including one female who had her feet severed, may have been caused by a problem with the gas tank. They are still looking into the case to determine the exact cause of the incident...

Labels: CNG buses

CNG BUSES * Vietnam - Interest rising in CNG as alternative to gas, diesel

Ho Chi Minh City,Vietnam -Vietnam News -April 5, 2010: ... Converting to the more environmentally friendly fossil fuel has been slow due to the cost of converting old systems to those that can accommodate Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) ... Last year, bus operators in Ho Chi Minh City expressed interest in switching to CNG as the gas is also more cost-effective than regular fuel... The Sai Gon Passenger Transport Company and HCMC Bus Cooperative Alliance each imported one CNG bus... The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and other environmental organizations have funded $250 million for a program to increase the use of CNG in Vietnam... Le Trung Tinh from the HCMC Department of Transport, said that HCMC now has about 5,000 buses with 1,300 of them in need of modernization... If authorities help businesses pay for clean-energy buses, the city would be able to convert 1,300 of the buses into more environmentally friendly vehicles... (Photo from SGGP - A driver fills up a taxi with gas in HCMC)

Labels: CNG buses

* Pakistan - Plan to run buses on CNG — going nowhere?

Only one diesel bus converted to CNG in 12 months

Lahore,Pakistán -The Daily Times, by Mansab Dogar -7 Ago 2007: -- The Transport Department’s strategy to have all diesel buses converted to CNG by December seems unlikely to succeed because only one out of 800 buses has been converted in 12 months... The Lahore High Court (LHC) had told the department to convert all public transport buses to CNG by December 31 to make Lahore clean... Regional Transport Authority (RTA) secretary Khalid Mehmood Mela said, the conversion process of all buses would be carried out in two phases. In the first phase, all new buses would be provided to buyers already fitted with CNG kits. The second phase would be to convert all diesel buses to CNG. Negotiations between the government and transporters are already underway in this regard... (Picture by taheny.com)

Labels: CNG buses