First Group will be launching a double deck bio-gas bus for their route 1 service in Bristol. The bus will also feature a glazed staircase – a design based on the New Routemaster bus.
From First Group
Starting Monday 21 August, Bristolians will be able to catch a new kind of bus – A double-decker bus that’s powered by bio methane, a renewable gas created from food scraps like left-over pizza pieces and other household food waste, so a completely sustainable and renewable fuel source.
Local bus operator First West of England will use the double decker, which is rated as the best low-emission double decker bus currently on the market, as a pathfinder. This will assess how well the new bus copes with the demands of city-wide operations in Bristol and how it impacts, for example, refuelling and maintenance operations.
The public can easily spot the bio-gas bus with its green livery and playful bubbles as a reference to its environmental credentials and the fermenting process that produces the odourless methane gas. The bus has 70 seats, a wheelchair space and standing room for 13, glass windows next to its staircase, allowing a lot more daylight to enter the vehicle.
The environmental credentials are impressive: Using bio methane, the bus’s greenhouse gas emissions are 84% cleaner than a Euro 5 Diesel on a well-to-wheel basis. Perhaps surprisingly considering its size and passenger capacity, its tailpipe emissions are lower than many modern Euro 6 diesel passenger cars.
The biogas bus also uses a different engine, which results in a quieter and improved journey experience for passengers; and residents along the Service 1 route may even notice the difference! Further improvements are two desks on the upper desk and no grabrails, giving a more spacious feel.
Talking about the Bio-gas bus, James Freeman, Managing Director of First West of England said:
“We are immensely proud to bring this premium double decker to Bristol so soon after the manufacturers offered it to the market. Its low emissions and bio-gas credentials are just what is needed in a city that is faced with air quality challenges and increased congestion. This bio-gas bus helps to improve local air quality as it produces fewer emissions than traditional diesel engines.”
Cllr Mhairi Threlfall, Cabinet Member for Transport, said:
“I’m delighted to support the launch of the first double-decker bus using biogas here in Bristol. It’s a testament to our good partnership with First that we were chosen to be the first place in the UK to test this particular type of innovative bus technology.
The future and health of Bristol depends on exploring low-emission technology and investments like this will help make real progress towards our air pollution targets.”
The biogas bus is the latest addition to First’s increasingly green fleet. Since the bus operator joined the European Green Capital Partnership in 2015 and make Bristol a more sustainable place to live, it made a firm commitment to only invest in low-carbon certified Euro VI engines, which produce 95% less oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emissions compared to buses with Euro V engines. Two years on, more than 110 low emission-certified double decker buses are now improving air quality on routes across Bristol and surrounding areas. The company also operates two virtual hybrid electric buses and uses a number of 100% electric passenger cars to transport drivers across Bristol to change-over points.
Stagecoach North East has also launched a double deck bio-gas bus as part of their six week trial for their route X24 express service in Sunderland.
From Scania
Stagecoach North East has joined forces with Scania to bring Britain’s first biogas-powered double decker to the streets of Sunderland.
The state-of-the-art gas bus will be trialled on the X24 express service, which runs from Sunderland to Newcastle, from 30th July for six weeks. It is a first for the national bus operator, with Sunderland chosen as the city to demonstrate its latest green technology.
The bus has been developed over a two-year period by Scania, the Sweden-based commercial vehicle manufacturer, specifically for the UK bus market. With emissions of carbon dioxide reduced by up to 84 per cent, the vehicle can operate on biogas created from waste products such as household food waste, or waste water.
With the capacity to seat up to 76 passengers, Stagecoach North east welcomes the opportunity to host the gas bus during the trial, which it believes will deliver lower running costs, alongside the environmental benefits of cleaner engines.
Gary Chisholm, Engineering Director at Stagecoach North East’s Sunderland depot, said: "Stagecoach North East is committed to reducing its environmental impact and with 40 single decker gas buses in our fleet at Sunderland, this is a further demonstration of our green credentials.
“Trialling new low-emission technologies to reduce air pollution and carbon dioxide emissions helps us move towards our environmental goals, and supports our group-wide 'Green Road' environmental programme. We're looking forward to seeing our passengers on the X24 service experience this exciting new double decker and we welcome their feedback on the experience.”
Scania has a long history of producing gas-powered vehicles for European markets but developing a product to supply to bus operators in the UK has been a greater challenge. Mark Oliver, Scania's UK Bus and Coach Fleet Sales General Manager, explains: "Unlike mainland Europe, British bus networks use a high proportion of double deck buses. Across Europe, single deck buses with gas tanks on the roof, are a common sight but for the UK we have had to accommodate the tanks within the double deck bodywork itself.”
During the trial, the bus will be fuelled using the existing gas fuelling station at the bus company’s depot in Sunderland that is shared with the single deck gas buses in the local area.
Tanya Neech, Senior Advisor for Sustainable Fuels at Scania added “The biogas double deck bus has been independently tested and is accredited under the Low Emission Bus Scheme. Of the 19 models approved through the scheme, our biogas double decker is the greenest bus available with a Well to Wheel (WTW) CO2 saving of 84%.”
The X24 inter-urban express service, launched in January of this year, operates every 30 minutes, Monday to Saturday, from Fawcett Street in Sunderland City Centre to Pilgrim Street in Newcastle. It also runs evening services at 7.24pm in Sunderland and 8.10pm in Newcastle respectively, offering a speedy service for commuters, and shopping and leisure visits to both cities.
For further information about Stagecoach North East please visit www.stagecoachbus.com.
To find out more about the Scania ADL E400S, click here.
Going back to Bristol, First Group will be launching 24 dual-door buses for Bristol to speed up dwell times at bus stops.
From Route-One
To speed up dwell times, First Bristol is poised to take delivery of 24 long wheelbase dual entrance/exit buses.
Designed for the city’s Metrobus rapid transit routes, they have Scania chassis with ADL Enviro400 bodies, built in Falkirk.
Their first deployments will be for the University of Bristol contract (Hengrove depot) and the UWE service (Lawrence Hill depot).
Lastly, here’s the London Bus news update from LOTS:
1) At Arriva the Shires Luton, the new E20Ds (3112-18 and 3129-35) are now in service, principally on town routes 12 and 27. Also at Luton the first few of the 13 Mercedes Benz Tourismo coaches for route 757 (batch 7001-13) have commenced delivery and one or two are already in service.
2) In London, delivery has begun of Go-Ahead’s 31 x AD E40H(MMC)s (batch EH131-161) for River Road Garage. These are for routes 5 and 115 when they are taken over from Stagecoach on 26th August, the balance of buses for the 5 being WVLs.
3) Also from the 26th two more new batches for south London. First of all, Arriva route 410 should have received StreetLites SLS 23-30, already being delivered as part of its allocation, and Abellio is taking 12 x AD E20D(MMC)s (batch 8185-96) for its takeover of route 130 from Go-Ahead Metrobus.
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