A funding request from Dublin Bus to trial hybrid fuel buses as part of a plan to reduce transport emissions was turned down by the Government.
Dublin Bus proposed to trial three hybrids over three years at a cost of just under €1 million but the National Transport Authority (NTA) declined the application because funds were not available from the Department of Transport, official correspondence reveals.
Hybrid-electric buses combine an electric motor with an internal combustion engine usually fuelled by diesel. They are considered ideal for stop -start driving conditions in cities and offer reduced fuel consumption and emissions. But they can cost about 50 per cent more than standard buses.
Documents released under the Freedom of Information Act show Dublin Bus sought support from the Department of Transport in February 2014 to trial a number of hybrid vehicles to assess their performance.
Emissions targets
Dublin Bus tendered for the vehicles the following December and submitted a funding application to the NTA in which it said it would need hybrid buses if it expected to meet Government emissions targets.
“BÁC [Bus Átha Cliath] is committed to reducing its CO2 emission by 33 per cent from 2020 as required by the Government’s National Energy Efficiency Action Plan,” the company said, adding that some reductions had been made through reorganising routes and promoting eco-driving techniques.
“However, to achieve the 33 per cent target it will be necessary to replace standard vehicles with hybrid alternatives.”
As the estimated cost of a double-deck hybrid was €525,000, Dublin Bus proposed to lease 15 vehicles over three years at a cost of €2.5 million a year. Three companies were invited to tender but when only one did, the proposal was reduced to a lease of three buses (Volvo B5LH chassis with a Wrights Body) over a period of three years at a cost of about €300,000 a year.
However, a March 2015 email from Dublin Bus to the department shows the funding application was verbally declined by the NTA. The email said leasing was the preferred option but outright purchase would be the eventual objective.
Low carbon
London introduced hybrid buses in 2006. The British government’s Green Bus fund provided £30 million (€39 million) to offset the difference between a standard vehicle and a “low carbon” vehicle. Following subsequent rounds of funding there are more than 1,400 hybrid buses in service in the UK.
An NTA spokeswoman said the cost of leasing three double- deck buses was almost equivalent to the cost of full purchase of three conventional diesel buses to the 2014 “Euro 6” emissions standard.
“Our view is that providing substantially fewer buses on the roads, albeit hybrid buses, would result in significantly more car journeys, to offset the lack of bus fleet on the streets, and that this would result in more environmental damage,” she added.
In August 2015, Minister for Transport Paschal Donohoe announced that 90 new double- deck buses were to be put on the roads as part of a €34.7 million investment in the Dublin Bus fleet replacement programme. The department said work was ongoing to establish a Green Bus Fund to support cleaner technologies within public transport fleets.
