July 6, 2023. The Regional Urban Transport of Pamplona, Spain, incorporates six new hybrid buses with a gas-electric engine, powered by compressed natural gas (CNG) with a Guarantee of Renewable Origin (GdO). These vehicles will use the natural gas supply facility set up a year ago in the Regional Urban Transport depot.
The six units are from the MAN brand, Lion’s City 19G Efficient Hybrid model, 18 meters long and 180 seats (35 of them seated). In July of last year, the first 13 CNG-powered vehicles were incorporated after the Pamplona Region Commonwealth (MCP) approved in 2021 the II Less Polluting Energy Plan of the Regional Urban Transport (TUC) for the progressive replacement of polluting buses. Consequently, the MCP no longer incorporates more diesel buses and continues with the progressive abandonment of this fuel in the urban transport fleet.
The abandonment of diesel and the incorporation of new buses moved with Gas of Renewable Origin fulfills a double purpose: on the one hand, it is about ‘clean vehicles’ without affecting the quality of urban air, anticipating the delimitation of the Low Emissions Zones from Pamplona and, on the other hand, they are “carbon neutral” since when using gas with a guarantee of renewable origin, a fuel equivalent to an equal volume of biomethane injected into the network is consumed. With this step, the Commonwealth is heading towards its general objective of being ‘Carbon Neutral by 2030’, being the first local entity in the State to use gas of renewable origin as bus fuel.
