Buses World News

PROPANE BUSES * USA

* Washington - Economics fuel change to propane buses in Toppenish

(Photo by GORDON KING/Yakima Herald-Republic: The Toppenish School District has recently acquired two propane-powered buses and Thorington believes they will be cheaper to operate than conventional diesel-powered buses)
Topenish,Yakima,WASH,USA -Yakima Herald-Republic, by Rafael Guerrero -June 19, 2014: -- From the exterior, the Toppenish School District’s two newest school buses look like the others in the fleet of 20. But a closer look reveals green stickers at the back and near the passenger doors. One word — propane — tells the story... Toppenish this month became one of a handful of school districts in the state to inch toward propane by adding two propane-powered school buses in an effort to fight rising diesel prices by finding a cleaner and cheaper fuel... The main objective for Toppenish is to trim fuel costs. The district has already spent more than $90,000 on diesel in the 2013-14 school year; there are no projections yet on how much the district will save, but fuel costs will go down... There are no immediate plans to purchase more propane-powered buses, but that could change if the rollout goes well. Ideally, District Transportation Director Blaine Thorington said, they could replace half of the district’s 20-bus diesel fleet...

Labels: alternative fuel

ALTERNATIVE FUELS * Norway - City buses turn to sewage for 'clean' fuel

Can the key to "clean" energy be found down in the sewer?

(Photo: A biogas bus being refueled) Oslo,Norway -AFP -22 March 2009: -- That's the idea in Oslo, where city officials soon plan to introduce buses that run on biofuels extracted from human waste... As of 2010, the new buses are due to start plying the streets of the Norwegian capital...

(Photo: A biogas bus)... The biofuel, which is methane generated by fermenting sludge, will come from the Bekkelaget sewage treatment plant which handles waste from 250,000 city dwellers... "By going to the bathroom, a person produces the equivalent of eight litres (2.1 gallons) of diesel per year. That may not seem like a lot, but multiplied by 250,000 people, that is enough to operate 80 buses for 100,000 kilometres (62,000 miles) each," Ole Jakob Johansen, one of the people in charge of the project at Oslo city hall, says...

(Photo: The Bekkelaget treatment plant's methane storage tank)... Compared to diesel, biomethane is a giant green step forward... In addition to being carbon neutral, it emits 78 percent less nitrogen oxide and 98 percent fewer fine particles -- two causes of respiratory illnesses -- and is 92 percent less noisy... Even the price is advantageous, says Johansen...

Labels: alternative fuel

ALTERNATIVE FUEL: Human Excrement * Norway - Poo Power! Oslo Buses to Run on Biomethane

Citizens of Norway will soon be able to ride around town on buses powered by nothing other than methane from human excrement...

Oslo,Norway -WorldChanging/ EarthFirst.com/EarthBlips, by Stephanie Rogers -1 Feb 2009: -- In Oslo, air pollution from public and private transport has increased by approximately 10% since 2000, contributing to more than 50% of total CO2 emissions in the city ...Biomethane is a by-product of treated sewage. Microbes break down the raw material and release the gas, which can then be used in slightly modified engines. Previously at one of the sewage plants in the city half of the gas was flared off, emitting 17,00 tonnes of CO2. From September 2009, this gas will be trapped and converted into biomethane to run 200 of the city's public buses... It’s emissions-free, hardly costs a thing and doesn’t require drilling into the earth’s surface. Every single person in Oslo will be contributing something very personal toward this new method of powering the city’s buses...

Labels: alternative fuel

ALTERNATIVE FUEL * USA - Thumb district looking at propane power for buses

Pigeon,Mich,USA -Associated Press/The Chicago Tribune -January 25, 2009: -- Officials say propane could be a cleaner and more economical alternative to diesel for Laker School District buses. Student services director Kathy Dickens says the district in Michigan's Thumb region hopes to use a federal grant to buy at least one propane-powered bus, which emit about 90 percent less soot than modern diesel engines... Chuck Burch of Cardinal Bus Sales in Lima, Ohio, says Laker Schools also could take advantage of a federal program giving refunds of 50 cents per gallon to districts that use propane. He says propane costs 70 cents a gallon including the refund... Burch is bringing one of the buses to Pigeon on Feb. 4 to discuss propane power with school officials from Huron, Tuscola and Sanilac counties. ..

Labels: alternative fuel

ALTERNATIVE FUEL * USA - DOT Says Run Your Car on Water Technology Works

The critics say that this hydrogen on demand technology simply cannot work. A document by the U. S. Department of Transportation (DOT) stating that the critics are wrong

Washington,DC,USA -Green Tech Gazette -August 20, 2008: -- ... Yes, the DOT report, which is about the safe handling of hydrogen, states that “hydrogen injection” as they call it does reduce emissions and increase gas mileage... The report talks mostly about fuel cell cars or vehicles with internal combustion engines that run on compressed hydrogen gas or liquid hydrogen. It does, however, also give some room to cover hydrogen injection systems (focused on diesel engines) including the electrolysis of water... The DOT document focuses on run your car on water technology for diesel engines since this has been more widely developed and publicly acknowledged for use with long haul trucks... The point is that government acknowledgement of this emerging run your car on water technology is a good first step. No longer can there be a valid argument on whether or not this technology works... The only real question is “How well can I get it to work?”...

Labels: alternative fuel

ALTERNATIVE FUEL * UK - Sainsbury’s to use landfill gas to power delivery lorries

Grocery giant Sainsbury's is to use a bio-methane combination fuel in its heavy duty diesel lorries used on its Bristol to Dartmouth distribution route

Bristol,UK -New Energy Focus -20 Aug 2008: -- The move follows a trial of the "Genesis" Dual-Fuel, provided by US-owned company Clean Air Power... The combination fuel involves a mixture of standard diesel and methane gas sourced from a landfill site in Surrey, provided by Gasrec ... The "Running on Rubbish" initiative will operate on the 500km round trip from the Sainsbury's distribution centre at Emerald Park in Bristol to the supermarket's new environmental store in Dartmouth... As the fuel has been developed for an ordinary diesel engine, Sainsbury's will be able to use its existing fleet of Mercedes-Benz Axor lorries. The technology patented by Clean Air Power allows an existing diesel engine to operate on a combination of diesel and methane with minimal change required to the base engine. Up to 80% of diesel can be substituted by methane depending on the conditions... And, according to the makers of the fuel, the diesel engine's performance is maintained at a reduced cost when compared to using normal diesel fuel, and produces a marked reduction in carbon emissions...

Labels: alternative fuel

Alternative * Australia - Brisbane buses trial animal fat fuel

The Brisbane City Council is trialling a new, cleaner fuel in its bus fleet

Brisbane,Australia -ABC net -Aug 24, 2007: -- Lord Mayor Campbell Newman says the new environmentally friendly B-20 fuel blend will be trialled on 25 buses at the Virginia depot... Cr Newman says it is made from vegetable oil and animal fats mixed with alcohol and could lower pollution levels and improve fuel efficiency... "We want to have a mix in our fleet. Some of our buses are powered by compressed natural gas which is a clean fuel in itself, but also then in the future biodiesel, ethanol and perhaps hydrogen [could be used]"...

Labels: alternative fuel