Dublin Bus has launched Ireland’s first ever hybrid-electric bus which will reduce fuel consumption and carbon emissions by a third.
The bus, which was unveiled at Dublin Castle this morning, will go into service next week on the busy 16 route between Rathfarnham and Dublin Airport.
The vehicle will be powered by a 2.4 litre diesel engine, less than a third the size of normal bus engines, and is supplemented by a Siemens hybrid-electric drive system supported by Lithium ion batteries.
It has been built by the Wright Group in Ballymena and is the first hybrid-electric bus to go into service in the UK or Ireland.
It will be used in a trial period by Dublin Bus and will be monitored over the coming months to see if its performance, reliability and maintenance requirements are sufficient to allow for the introduction of more such buses on routes.
Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey said the hybrid bus had the potential to be the “Toyota Prius” of buses.
He said it was a very practical demonstration of what was needed in the present economic climate which is a bus that is more efficient and that saves on both fuel costs and emissions.
He said it was important to look beyond the “extreme economic difficulties” at present and plan for the future and the launch of the hybrid was an precursor to an “enormous process of change” that will be brought to Ireland’s transport system in the future.
Proposals for public transport outlined in the Government’s sustainable travel and transport action plan will unveiled in the New Year and will map out the future of public transport in Ireland for the next 15 to 20 years.
Mr Dempsey said it would offer passengers a “more realistic choice between the private car and more sustainable modes of travel”.
