Bessere Luft durch Gasbusse. Fallbeispiele Schweiz insbesondere BVB Basler Verkehrsbetriebe

• Research unit: COST
• Project number: C96.0015

Key words (German)

CNG; Emissionen; Emissionsfaktoren; Gasbus; Kosten-Wirksamkeit; Vergleich CNG-Diesel

Research programs (English)

COST-Action 616 - CITAIR - Mobile sources of air pollution in urban areas

Short description (English)

See abstract

Partners and International Organizations (English)

CH, CZ, D, DK, E, F, GR, H, I, IRL, N, S, SK, UK

Abstract (English)

In 1994 the public transport authorities of Basle/Switzerland decided to run CNG (compressed natural gas) powered buses instead of conventional diesel buses as a measure to improve air quality. At the beginning of 1996 12 CNG buses were put into service. It gives an overview of experiences made during the first two years of operation and evaluates the costs and the environmental benefits. The advantages of CNG buses compared to conventional diesel buses with respect to air pollution are undisputed. On board measurements of NOx emissions showed levels of 5 to 6 g/vehicle-km for the CNG buses while modern diesel buses respecting the current EURO2 regulations emit about 13 to 14 g/vehicle-km. With respect to particles, a reduction factor of 10 in favour of CNG can be assumed. Direct comparative measurements of the energy consumption showed a 25% higher level for the CNG buses, while operational experiences indicate that this factor can go up to +45%. The annual costs of the CNG buses were 13% higher compared to conventional diesel buses. This is due to higher energy consumption, higher maintenance costs, higher investment costs for the vehicles and for the gas filling station which had to be installed especially for the buses. In the meantime the filling station has been taken over by the gas provider which reduces the additional costs for the CNG buses to +9% and, at the same time, gives the opportunity to open the filling station to other users. This study is a contribution to the programme COST/CITAIR 'For improved air quality in European cities'.

References in databases (English)

Swiss Database: COST-DB of the State Secretariat for Education and Research Hallwylstrasse 4 CH-3003 Berne, Switzerland Tel. [phone] Swiss Project-Number: C96.0015