Together with the incorporation of these 80 NGVs, the same number of 14-year-old vehicles with diesel engines has been removed from the fleet, as a result of which emissions of approximately 346 tons of carbon dioxide of nitrogen have been reduced. The agreement reached by Gas Natural Fenosa and TMB expects the NGV fleet to add 204 additional CNG buses by 2015, reaching 500 natural gas fueled vehicles –that is nearly half of the total fleet in operation, which consists of 1,080 buses.
Additionally, both companies are currently developing a pioneering project related to the introduction of electric motor drive into CNG buses. It is supposed that the combination of a low emission natural gas engine with an electric one will result in a high quality vehicle in terms of environment protection.
The prototype, which has been built on an existing bus, is undergoing tests in order to compare the technical solutions applied, to reduce emissions and, above all, to save money in fuel consumption. At the end of this testing period, by early 2012, the feasibility of the project will be assessed to know whether or not mass production will be implemented.
Source: Transports Metropolitans of Barcelona.
