[pf] 9 cities with actual-hydrogen-fuelled buses, by 2003

{· slow progress, but at least progress.   D.}

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http://www.ens.lycos.com/ens/mar2001/2001L-03-30-11.html
  [contains: "The [Daimler Chrysler] buses will be delivered in 2003 and
will be operated with a dedicated hydrogen refuelling facility to be
provided by BP."
  and is:

London to Take Delivery of Low Emission Buses

LONDON, United Kingdom, March 30, 2001 (ENS) - Londoners will soon be using
hydrogen powered fuel cell buses, after an announcement this week. 

A fuel cell combines hydrogen with oxygen to produce electricity, heat and
water. The fuel cell uses this electricity to power the vehicle. Because
the only emission from fuel cell vehicles fueled with hydrogen is water
vapor, they are significantly cleaner than existing petrol and diesel
vehicles. 
The difference such technology could make in London, one of Europe's most
polluted cities, is significant and follows a trend. In December, it was
announced that some of the capital's 20,000 black taxi cabs were being
fitted with pollution cutting catalytic converters. 

Other cabs in the fleet are converting from diesel to the much cleaner
liquefied petroleum gas. 

This week's announcement by Transport Minister Lord Whitty, will see three
hydrogen powered fuel cell buses go on trial. 

"I am delighted that London is to take delivery of three hydrogen fuel cell
buses - one of only nine cities where they are being trialed - and am
pleased to confirm that the government will contribute towards the cost of
this project," said Whitty. 

The London trial will form part of a much wider project involving 27 fuel
cell buses. The other eight cities are Reykjavik, Stockholm, Amsterdam,
Luxembourg, Hamburg, Stuttgart, Barcelona and Porto. 

The three London fuel cell buses will be supplied by EvoBus, the bus
division of Daimler Chrysler. The single deck vehicle, fueled with
compressed hydrogen, will produce zero emission at point of use with an
operating range of around 240 kilometers (150 miles) and a carrying
capacity similar to a typical London single decker bus. 
The buses will be delivered in 2003 and will be operated with a dedicated
hydrogen refuelling facility to be provided by BP. 

"These state of the art vehicles will give Londoners the chance to see and
experience at first hand the future of clean passenger transport. 

"I am confident the trial will be a success, and generate a lot of interest
among other UK bus operators and bus manufacturers." 

Londoners and visitors to the city are well aware of its pollution problem,
which is closely linked to its traffic congestion. In central London,
vehicles travel at an average speed of less than 16 kilometers (10 miles)
an hour - little faster than horse and cart traffic at the turn of the 20th
century. 

Four million people work in Greater London and one million work in central
London. About one in seven commuters travelling into central London comes
by car, which means that during rush hour, more than 50,000 vehicles enter
central London per hour. 
Once in the city center, traffic typically spends 50 percent of its time at
a standstill, thereby upping the harmful emissions of nitrogen oxide and
particulate matter. 

Transport for London (TfL), the executive body of the Greater London
Authority, which runs London Buses, expects to use more fuel cell buses
following the end of the trials in 2005. Adoption of the buses on a more
extensive route network will depend on developing a wider hydrogen fuel
infrastructure. 

© Environment News Service (ENS) 
 
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sent to Positive Futures list by David.
(David MacClement) davd@ihug.co.nz 
http://www.geocities.com/davd.geo/index.html#top
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