With ULEZ on the way, operators and manufacturers are up against it to upgrade fleets to Euro 6 on time. GreenUrban has a solution
The deadline for upgrading fleets to Euro 6 to carry out work in London is looming.
Sadiq Khan's decision to bring forward the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) to 2019 has alarmed many operators as they have even less time to ensure their fleets are compliant for London. At the same time, other cities in the UK are making plans to introduce their own clean air zones (CAZ). Time is running out.
Added to this is the fact that operators are struggling to achieve decent residual values for Euro 5 coaches – thus making it more difficult to buy Euro 6 coaches.
Fortunately, there is a solution and it's one that's designed and built in Britain.
It has the potential to save large numbers of devalued Euro 5 coaches from stacking up in dealers’ yards – and it can save operators thousands of pounds.
Euro 6, retrofitted
Based in Cumbria, GreenUrban Technologies manufactures its own selective catalytic reduction (SCR) and diesel particulate filter (DPF) technology that can be retrofitted to older vehicles to bring them up to Euro 6 emission standard.
The system to achieve London ULEZ compliance is called EcoNOxt, and it’s already been retrofitted to vehicles as old as Euro 2.
UK-designed and manufactured at GreenUrban’s Penrith premises, it comes with an extended five-year warranty (or basic three-year warranty) and full service support that’s easy to access.
It could prove a godsend as the London ULEZ comes into force in 2019, and operators struggle to buy enough new Euro 6 coaches to meet demand.
“Those thinking they can trade in a Euro 5 vehicle for a Euro 6 for around £30,000 may be in for a bit of a shock,” says Brian Firth, Sales Manager. “It could cost up to £100,000, because we don’t believe that Euro 5 will hold its value.”
Operators wishing to protect the residual values of their Euro 5 vehicles with GreenUrban’s high-quality retrofit system will spend between £11,000-14,000 per vehicle on average (dependent on engine size). “A system could pay for itself in going to London in a matter of weeks,” says Director and Chief Engineer George Slater.
Each unit is designed bespoke for the vehicle it’s being fitted to, and is installed either at GreenUrban’s own premises, at the operator’s depot, or by one of GreenUrban’s fully-accredited service partners.
GreenUrban is currently retrofitting National Express West Midlands vehicles with the kit, and growing its network of service partners (and providing the training to them) to ensure that it’s ready for fleets to be upgraded across the country.
It is also in talks with coach dealers to supply Euro 5 coaches upgraded to Euro 6 with GreenUrban kit, so watch this space.
Holistic approach
The company started in 2004 as a distributor, and began manufacturing exhaust systems in 2011. Today headed up by George Slater and Nigel Standley, Managing Director, the business has a “holistic” approach to the life of the exhaust.
GreenUrban doesn’t just manufacture its own systems. It services those supplied by others, whether by cleaning, repairing, or replacing if necessary.
DPFs work by trapping soot and then burning it off, but without regular cleaning the ash builds up and can stop them working properly. Moreover, to burn the soot properly a DPF needs consistently high engine temperature; if a vehicle is engaged in stop-start bus work, for example, the temperature will not be as high and the DPF will not work as effectively, which can lead to blockages and damage.
Therefore, a DPF is not a “fit-and-forget” solution; they all need regular cleaning, and as it has a full facility in the UK, a large support network, and a willingness to work with operators to ensure their fleet’s exhausts are constantly looked after, GreenUrban is an ideal partner.
The way GreenUrban cleans DPFs is a “secret”, says Brian, and he believes that no other supplier cleans them in exactly the same way. “I don’t think there’s anyone else in the UK that can take a complex Euro 4 and above exhaust that’s failed, and make it into a like-new unit, either by professionally cleaning it or replacing failed or damaged components,” he says.
The company’s experience backs up its message. When a major bus operator experienced problems with DPFs in Liverpool, GreenUrban replaced almost all of them with its own filters, which it says saved the operator about a third on what they would have paid for brand-new systems from the OEM.
That operator is now one of GreenUrban’s biggest customers for the cleaning and servicing of its DPFs and more complex exhausts. “We’re saving them up to six figures a year across their fleet just by proactively working with them,” says Brian. “We can repair or clean an exhaust for far less than you'd pay to replace it, and all-importantly, downtime is kept to a minimum.”
GreenUrban will arrange to collect an exhaust or DPF and get it back to the operator as quickly as is possible.
Right here in the UK
As a complex exhaust is not something that can be fitted and forgotten about, GreenUrban is pushing the fact that UK operators can work alongside them to ensure that their exhausts and DPF modules are looked after properly.
It has the expertise, the facilities and the support network to clean exhausts quickly and efficiently, to repair them as needed, and, if necessary, to replace them with a cost-effective and high-quality unit of British design.
Couple this with the fact that the GreenUrban EcoNOxt system could ensure that Euro 5 vehicles are not prematurely consigned to the scrapheap, and you can see why GreenUrban believes it has the correct range of solutions where exhaust systems are concerned. “We have a solution for ULEZ and CAZ-affected vehicles, right here in the UK,” says George. “All operators could benefit from talking to us.”
- Visit www.greenurban.co.uk
