news

The world’s largest fleet of gas-fuelled double-decker buses is introduced

Posted: 11 August 2017 | Intelligent Transport | No comments yet

Nottingham is in the process of introducing the world’s largest fleet of double-deck dedicated gas-powered Scania buses into service.

Nottingham is in the process of introducing the world’s largest fleet of double-deck dedicated gas-powered Scania buses into service.

The world’s largest fleet of gas-fuelled double-decker buses is introduced

With 300,000 people living in Nottingham (a figure which swells to in excess of 1.5 million in the wider metropolitan area), the city has its fair share of congestion and pollution. To alleviate this, Nottingham City Transport (the local authority-owned bus company which fulfils a total of 50 million passenger journeys a year on its network of routes around the city and surrounding boroughs) is investing in green technology.

Nottingham City Transport has long enjoyed a reputation for innovation, including pioneering the use of alternative fuels in urban bus operations, the latest incarnation of which is dedicated gas power. A total of 53 Scania double-deck buses will be introduced into service during 2017/18.

“We are looking to deliver substantial environmental benefits over the coming years…”

“By investing in this fleet of gas-fuelled double-deckers, we are looking to deliver substantial environmental benefits over the coming years,” says Mark Fowles, Managing Director, Nottingham City Transport. “We are expecting significant annual savings in three key areas: carbon dioxide emissions, NOx emissions and particulate matter reduction. Independent tests have confirmed an 84 percent ‘well to wheel’ saving when comparing biogas operation to Euro 5 diesel, so we are confident our anticipated returns will be turned into reality.”

The world’s largest fleet of gas-fuelled double-decker buses is introduced

By 2020, the city intends to operate more than 120 biogas-fuelled buses out of its heavy fleet of 300 buses: “That is a step-change in terms of environmental performance,” concludes Fowles. “As our ultimate aim is to deliver the same quality of service throughout our area, you can expect to see more of the same in the future as we continue the transition to a more sustainable transport system for Nottingham.”