- Waste from 32,674 households along the route will help to power the vehicle
The UK’s first bus powered by human waste is to be used regularly in service in Bristol from 25 March 2015 with the 32,674 households* along the route of Service 2 in the city helping (indirectly) to fuel it.
In running the Bio-Bus in the city, operators First West of England will be able to assess how well the vehicle – powered by biomethane gas – copes with the demand of a city-wide operation, and how the general public react to it.
Biomethane gas is a sustainable fuel source and if the trial with the Bio-Bus proves successful here, First West of England will look to possibly bring more Bio-Buses into operation in the future. Much of that decision rests though on the success of the trial, and the public’s response to the vehicle itself.
Fuelling the Bio-Bus in Bristol is one of the challenges that First will have to overcome while it is running the vehicle. While the rest of its fleet can be fuelled in its depots, for the duration of the trial the Bio-Bus will need to fill up at a special site in Avonmouth, where GENeco, the renewable energy and waste recycling company owned by Wessex Water, turns sewage and inedible food waste into the biomethane gas. If the trial is successful then as part of a further rollout of vehicles, First would need to find a way to fuel the buses within its depot facilities.
For the duration of the trial all the households along the route used by the Bio-Bus (Service 2) will, indirectly, help to fuel it. These households have their waste processed at Bristol sewage treatment works at Avonmouth.
Over the course of each month, it is thought that each household along the route of Service 2 would contribute enough waste to fuel the Bio-Bus for 10.5km (6.5miles). The route of Service 2 is around 15 miles in each direction, meaning it would take each household around two months to produce enough waste to fuel an end-to-end journey on it. Collectively though, all the households along the route could produce enough waste over the course of a year to run the Bio-Bus for 4.1million kilometres (2.5 million miles).
It will begin operating in the city a week later, duplicating set journeys on First West of England’s Service 2 on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays*. The exact detail of which journeys the bus will operate on will be published in advance on First’s local website (www.firstgroup.com/biobus).
Talking about the Bio-Bus, and the company’s plans to operate it in the city, James Freeman, Managing Director of First West of England says; “Since its original unveiling last year the Bio-Bus has generated worldwide attention and so it’s our great privilege to bring it to the city, to operate – quite rightly – on Service 2.
“The Bio-Bus previously made an appearance running between Bath and Bristol Airport at the end of last year, but it’s only actually been used once before in the centre of Bristol itself. That was on the official launch weekend of the Bristol Green Capital year – when we ran free round-trip journeys on it. From its first outing though it’s turned heads, and we expect interest in this vehicle to be maintained for the entire time we have it.
“From 25 March we’ll be running the Bio-Bus on a set schedule for four days a week.
“The very fact that its running in the city should help to open up a serious debate about how buses are best fuelled, and what is good for the environment. In this Bristol Green Capital year that conversation is more welcome than ever.”
The Bio-Bus can set up to 40 people, with space for one wheelchair. It is powered by biomethane gas produced from food and sewage waste by GENeco, a subsidiary of Wessex Water. The Bio-Bus helps to improve urban air quality as it produces fewer emissions than traditional diesel engines.
For more information about First West of England see www.firstgroup.com/bristol.
For an overview of First’s plans as part of the Green Capital year, see www.firstgroup.com/bristolgreencapital.
To find out when the Bio-Bus is running in Bristol, log onto www.firstgroup.com/biobus.
To offer feedback about the Bio-Bus, tweet @FirstBSA using the hastag #biobus.
For more information about GENeco, or the bio-methane bus, see www.geneco.uk.com.
ENDS
Notes to Editors
- For more information contact Karen Duffett (nee Baxter), PR Manager, First on 0117 373 6470 or 07894 785155. Email: [email protected]
- First in West of England has depots in Bristol, Bath, Weston-super-Mare and Wells. As a company, First is committed to delivering a safe, reliable and punctual service for its customers. It operates 528 vehicles and employs around 1700 members of staff. For more information see www.firstgroup.com/bristol or www.firstgroup.com/bath. First in West of England is also on Facebook and Twitter, at www.facebook.com/FirstWestofEngland and www.twitter.com/FirstBSA.
- FirstGroup plc is the leading transport operator in the UK and North America with revenues of more than £6.7 billion a year. We employ approximately 117,000 employees and transport around 2.5 billion passengers a year.
- Our vision is to provide solutions for an increasingly congested world… keeping people moving and communities prospering.
- FirstGroup is one of Britain’s largest bus operators with around a fifth of bus services outside London. A fleet of some 6,400 buses carries approximately 1.6 million passengers a day in a huge number of communities including 40 of the UK's largest towns and cities. We operate Greyhound UK providing regular intercity coach services linking South Wales and Bristol Airport, and we also operate some US-style yellow school buses and have a fleet of coaches available for charter. We also operate the Aircoach network in Ireland.
*Creating enough waste to fuel the bus: some stats regarding households on the route of Service 2
- There are 32,674 households within 400m of the route of Service 2
- Service 2 runs from Cribbs Causeway to Stockwood, via the City Centre
- Each person’s annual food and sewage waste would fuel the bio bus for 55km
- There are 2.3 people on average living in each household.
- 2.3 people x 32,674 households x 55km = 4,133,261km per year
- X 0.621371192 (to convert to miles)= 2,568,288.9 miles
- Divided by 12 = 214,024.07 miles per month
- Divided by 32,674 households = 6.5 miles per household per month
**the bio-bus will operate set journeys on Service 2, running in addition to the normal buses on the route. The timetable will be published online at www.firstgroup.com/biobus. There will be occasions when the bio bus does not operate as scheduled – due to it being taken off the road for special events. Where this is the case details will be added to the website in advance.
About GENeco
GENeco was launched by Wessex Water in 2010 so the company could increase the amount of renewable energy it can produce. In 2012 it opened the country’s first co-located food waste plant at a sewage works. The gas to grid plant was built this year using state-of-the-art technology that ensures gas being injected into the grid is of the right standard.
Gas to grid – the process
GENeco’s gas to grid plant injects gas generated from sewage and food waste into the national gas grid network. The process comprises:
1. Sewage and food waste is treated and heated up, and as part of process anaerobic digesters are used which produce methane-rich biogas.
2. The biogas is 'upgraded' which involves removing carbon dioxide, which is safely released into the atmosphere, and other gaseous impurities.
3. Impurities are removed by a bioscrubber and activated carbon filters to produce virtually odour free emissions to air.
4. Propane is added to the biomethane, which is stored and injected on site. It enriches the gas to natural gas quality and calorific value.
5. Enriched biomethane is analysed and monitored to ensure it is of the correct standard before being fed into the local gas distribution network.
Some facts and figures regarding the Bio-Bus (source: Wessex Water)
- Exhaust gases from the Bio-Bus offer a 97% reduction (in comparison to standard diesel vehicles) in harmful emissions that effect air quality.
- The Bio-Bus has a lower carbon footprint than traditional diesel vehicles: CO2 outputs are around 20 - 30% lower than diesel counterparts.
- Biomethane gas is produced from renewable sources and can help reduce reliance on traditional fossil fuels.