Stagecoach East is trialling Britain’s first biogas-powered double-decker bus on the Guided Busway A and B services between Huntingdon and Cambridge.
The six-week trial of the Scania/ADL Enviro400 has seen Stagecoach showcase the benefits of running gas buses in real-life service to key stakeholders, local MPs and city council members.
Specifically developed for the UK bus market, Stagecoach East says the bus “offers a number of advantages” that complement environmental goals of improving air quality in Cambridge, and its commitment to sustainable transport and renewable fuels.
Stagecoach East MD Andy Campbell says: “The technology around biogas-powered buses is still very new, but trials of bio-methane gas have proved very encouraging, resulting in minimal emissions.
“Looking after the environment is an important consideration for us. We have frequent bus services running every 10 minutes, and so we are actively working at reducing our environmental impact wherever possible.
Tanya Neech, Senior Advisor for Sustainable Fuels at Scania, added: “The bus has been independently tested and is accredited under the Low Emission Bus Scheme. Of the 19 models approved through the scheme, ours is the greenest bus available with a well-to-wheel CO2 saving of 84%.”
Biogas is created from waste products such as household food waste, farm waste and sewage – making it a natural and renewable fuel to produce.
Biogas-powered buses additionally help the environment by using products otherwise destined for landfill – reducing the amount of potent greenhouse gases (methane) which would have occurred and been released into the atmosphere if the waste products had been left to decompose naturally.
Details at www.gasalliance.eu
