May 18, 2023. As of Monday, May 22, MiBus will start a six-month pilot plan with two compressed natural gas (CNG) buses to evaluate the use of cleaner fuels.
The vehicles, which have a capacity for 60 passengers, will provide public transport service to users on different routes in the system.
Colon LNG Marketing, with the companies AES and TotalEnergies as associates, are the actors in support of this pilot plan and the construction of the refueling station, formalized through an execution agreement duly endorsed by the General Comptroller of the Republic, where it is established which does not represent any financial outlay for MiBus or any commitment or disposition of public assets or funds.
It is worth mentioning that the Technological University of Panama, through its research centers, will carry out an evaluation of the operation in real conditions of use of both vehicles in Panama City, in terms of performance, maintenance frequency and environmental emissions.
On the other hand, this pilot plan will offset the carbon footprint of the entire natural gas value chain, from its extraction, processing, maritime transport, reception, distribution and eventually its combustion in the two buses that are part of the project, yielding a result of 200 tons of CO2 that is estimated to be generated during its duration (6 months).
“At MiBus we consider it a great opportunity to continue executing strategies for sustainable mobility that, with this pilot plan for natural gas vehicles, will give us environmental benefits by producing fewer emissions of polluting gases and considerably reducing noise, contributing to the improvement of the environment, and that users live the experience during their journey,” says the company.
