Published: Friday, 20th June, 2008 08:00
Green bus fleet's new fuel station
By Adam Hewitt
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Sam Simpson demonstrates how the buses are fuelled
Pic by: Jon Mikol
READING’S world-leading bio-ethanol buses now have their very own fuelling station.
At the grand opening on Monday transport bosses said the fleet, the first double-deckers in the world to use the fuel, could be just the first wave in a green transport revolution in the town.
The buses now run 24-hours-a-day on route 17 from Tilehurst through Reading town centre and on to Wokingham Road, and can now be refuelled at the bus station in Great Knollys Street.
The pumping equipment was declared ready for use by Sarah Bell, traffic commissioner for western England, who said she was very impressed with the 14-strong fleet.
Reading Buses and Reading Borough Council have invested £2.8m in the scheme, aiming for an 80% cut in carbon emissions by ditching diesel and instead running the buses on bio-ethanol, made from waste sugar-beet husks grown in Norfolk on existing farmland.
Cllr Tony Jones, chairman of Reading Transport Ltd, said: “It’s amazing to think something as simple as sugar waste could power these buses and help the environment at the same time. This kind of sustainable bio-fuel has a role to play in providing for our future public transport needs and we are proud that Reading is leading the way.”
The bio-ethanol is mixed only with an ignition improver, which also contains a chemical to stop people drinking the fuel.
The council is now considering converting some of its own vehicles to use the fuel, especially since the soaring cost of diesel has made bio-ethanol the cheaper option. It costs less than 60p per litre, although more of it is needed per mile than traditional fuels.
Each bus has a 400-litre tank, which can usually do 17 round trips on the number 17 route, around 260 miles, one day’s driving.
Reading Transport chief executive James Freeman said he was already looking ahead.
He said: “In the future we’re hoping to start bringing in bio-ethanol hybrids, which they’re already using in Sweden but are currently very expensive.
“However, they cut emissions virtually to zero. At optimum speeds our current bio-ethanol buses have very low carbon emissions, but constantly changing speeds can mean higher emissions. But with the hybrids, this is almost entirely eliminated, as is much of the noise of the buses.
“But we’re already way out front on this – the Americans and London are doing their own things, but in the context of provincial England, we’re very much the leaders.”
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