Buses World News

REPORT *USA - NRC: Improving Fuel Economy of Buses and Trucks Is Easy

Washington,DC,USA -Fast Company, by Ariel Schwartz -Apr 7, 2010: -- Trucks, buses, and tractor trailers are some of the biggest gas guzzlers around. You might think, then, that improving the fuel economy of these hulking vehicles would be difficult. But according to a recently released report from the National Research Council, improving fuel economy could be fairly simple... Next100 points us to the report, Technologies and Approaches to Reducing the Fuel Consumption of Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicles, wihch explains that advanced diesel engines and hybrid powertrains--both high-tech solutions--could play a role in cutting fuel consumption. The NRC reports: Using advanced diesel engines in tractor-trailers could lower their fuel consumption by up to 20 percent by 2020, and improved aerodynamics could yield an 11 percent reduction. Hybrid powertrains could lower the fuel consumption of vehicles that stop frequently, such as garbage trucks and transit buses, by as much 35 percent in the same time frame... So advanced engines and powertrains shouldn't be ignored altogether. But the NRC also advocates driver training and higher fuel taxes--two simple ways to cut consumption. A fuel tax would spur companies to invest in fuel-saving technologies by providing monetary incentive, while a training program that teaches drivers to utilize fuel-saving practices (i.e. keeping tires inflated, minimizing idling, etc.) could lead to fuel savings of 2 to 17%...

Labels: eco buses

Eco Buses * China - Transalon: An electric bus for fast-paced Chinese cities

Concept bus powered by electric engine

China -Ecofriend.org (UK), by Jolly -Feb 16 2009: -- Being the world leader in population and the fastest emerging market in the world, China needs fast and green transportation facilities that could carry much more that what normal facilities are designed for. Industrial designer Xiao-Fang Shen has designed a green ride for the urban population of China. Transalon, as the bus has been named, runs on clean electricity... The glass body and a roof mounted AC unit do promise a cool and a scenic ride all through. The interiors too have been designed by keeping the population of the place in mind. Ample space has been designed for people who’ll have to stand once all the seats have been booked. An LED display shows information regarding the next stop and weather outside... The technology used in the bus that includes AC units, electronic driving controls and LED displays to name a few will all use lots of electricity. Since the bus itself is designed to run on electricity, it would be considered an energy-efficient transportation system...

Labels: eco buses

Modern electric vehicles? * UK - You don't know you're born lad!

The eco-friendly pleasures of trolley buses

London,UK -Biglorryblog -10 May 2007: -- ... can't help but raise a wry smile amid all the chatter about the latest generation of 'new' green vehicles like electric this, hybrid that, alternative the other... Yet while I do find the latest crop of clean and green wagons impressive--not least those from Smiths and Modec (which seem to have finally taken off thanks to better battery technology) I can't help thinking that we've been here before... namely with the humble trolley bus, now apparently making a come back in Geneva and Lyon etc...

Labels: eco buses

ECO NEWS

* USA - Diesel Hybrid School Buses Give California Legislators New Tool to Reduce Emissions - Clean Buses Can Help Meet Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Reduction Goals

Sacramento,Cal,USA -PRNewswire -April 17, 2007: -- Top lawmakers received a glimpse of the future for clean and efficient student transportation as Navistar International Corporation debuted one of the first diesel hybrid
school buses here today... Company representatives highlighted the potential for this innovative technology to help meet California's climate change, energy efficiency and clean air goals, and they urged government officials to provide incentives that will expand the market for these pioneering vehicles...

* USA - New clean-burning fuel buses make debut
AZ,USA -The Arizona Republic, by Kellie Hwang -Apr. 19, 2007: -- Standard diesel fuel buses are out, clean-burning fuel buses are in... The Phoenix Public Transit Department introduced its new ultra-low sulfur diesel bus early this morning at the Phoenix Central Station downtown. Passengers en route were welcomed with steaming cups of Starbucks coffee and a sneak peak into one of the new eco-friendly 40-foot buses... Transit officials thought Earth Week was the best time to showcase the new buses, a total of 126 that will be arriving by this October...

Labels: eco buses

GREEN NEWS * Argentine - Buses working with water as fuel

Argentine's Ecological Invention - Vehicles dismiss not pollution gases

Cordoba, CBA, ARG - La Razon(City Buenos Aires,ARG) -29 Mar 2007: -- The city of Cordoba will count in a short time with Echo-Buses, with which partially combustible fossils by water will be replaced... The objective of these novel motors is the one to reduce the effects of polluting agents derived from petroleum and, simultaneously, to replace combustible that tend inevitably to the shortage in the next years… Victor Solmi, who patented the technology in 140 countries, announced that the state company "Las Delicias",owned of 250 buses now in operation, will completely renew its fleet with these units… The development of a model of partial fossil fuel substitution by water, although becomes experimenteds with echo-buses in the cities of Rosario (Santa Fe province, Arg), and Mar del Plata (Buenos Aires's province), where active communal policies of protection of environment are executeds... This technology, "already was applied successfully in different types from vehicles like tractors, automobiles, harvest machines and ice-breakers vessels", according to its creators...

Labels: eco buses