April 19, 2024. Two buses in the public transport fleet of Logroño, Spain, have been replaced by two others that run on compressed natural gas (CNG). This was stated by the Mayor of the capital of Rioja, Conrado Escobar, in an informative meeting on the occasion of the presentation of these two vehicles, in which the Councilor for Mobility, Ángel Andrés, also participated.
Escobar has indicated that these buses “run with the most respectful fuel that exists right now, with a considerable minimization of the most harmful emissions to the atmosphere, which drop, in some cases, up to 95%.”
These vehicles, he continued, are two Mercedes Benz Citaro with the best current safety and accessibility standards, and the initial forecast is that they will be incorporated into service on lines 1, Hospital San Pedro-Lardero, and 2, Yagüe-Varea, which are the two that register the highest percentage of trips. The official has framed this improvement in urban transport within the objectives pursued with the development of the ‘Logroño Circular’ strategy of moving towards progressive self-sufficiency in the use of resources with a reduction in waste and emissions.
“Our longer-term objective would be to ensure that the entire urban transport fleet moves with the biogas that can be generated from our waste, a completely achievable objective according to the technical reports, since there is the capacity to generate more than double the annual consumption of the service,” he assured.
For his part, Andrés has pointed out that “a fundamental advantage of the new fuel used by these two vehicles is the significant reduction of the most dangerous emissions.” He specified that “they practically do not emit sulfur oxides (Sox); a reduction of more than 96% in nitrogen oxides (NOx) is achieved; and almost 95% of polluting particles; in addition to lowering carbon dioxide (CO2) by 38%.” “These units, due to their characteristics, also produce less noise pollution, with almost 50% noise reduction due to engine operation and vibrations,” he stressed.
