Transpole's buses runs on gas and biogas in association with the Communauté Urbaine de Lille
| Region(s) | France |
|---|---|
| In domains | Reduction of Greenhouse Gases, Renewable Sourcing, Transport |
| Participants | Transpole |
Lille Métropole Communauté Urbaine decided, in the 1990‘s, to use for the first time methane gas from the fermentation of sludges processed in sewage treatment plants as a fuel for urban buses, to fight against air pollution and use local energy. The operation was led in association with Transpole, the public transport services operator. It aims at developing the bus fleet, converting it to buses only running on natural gas or biofuel.
- Limiting fossil energy consumption, as well as pollution.
- Limiting C02 emissions
From 1994 to 1998, there was an experimental test on 7 buses. Natural gas and biogas from the sewage treatment plant in Marquette were used. It showed gas was price effective when compared to diesel. The test proved to be good for the environment (reduction in particle emissions by 95%, in nitrogen oxide by 71% and noise reduction by 50%) and the buses running on gas are reliable. These are the reasons why the Communauté Urbaine de Lille decided in 1999 to convert a third of its fleet (i.e. 100 buses) to buses running on gas.
Since 2005, new facilities have been (or are going to be) created to supply buses with gas and biogas
A new bus depot was built in Sequedin. 150 buses can actually park there, and they are fixed on site and assigned from there.
In 2008, the Centre de Valorisation Organique was created : it aims at producing biogaz from urban waste, and will replace the equivalent to 2/3 fuel consumption.
Surveys are being conducted to build a bus depot working on biogas coming from a sewage treatement plant.
• Trying out and acquiring a specific know- how.
• The fuel bill when running on gas/biogas is equivalent to that of other fuels.
• The company shows it is a « green » public transport service operator; this induces an increasing number of runs on the network.
- No document available
