He Regional urban transport joins this Wednesday six new hybrid buses with a gas-electric engine, powered by compressed natural gas (CNG) with a Guarantee of Renewable Origin (GdO), which are now part of the TUC fleet.
These buses will use the natural gas supply facility for the Villavesas fleet located in the garages of the Regional urban transport. During the presentation ceremony of the new villavesas, which took place in the TUC garages, the Director General of Transport and Sustainable Mobility of the Government of NavarraBerta Miranda; the president of the Commonwealth of the Pamplona Region, David Campión and the general director of the Moventis Group, Juan Jiménez.
Replacement of diesel vehicles
The six buses presented this Wednesday come from the Men’s brandtwo of them of the Lion’s City 19G Efficient Hybrid model, with 18 meters of length and 180 seats (of which 35 are seated) and four others of the Lion’s City 12G Efficient Hybrid model, with 12 meters of length and 111 seats (23 of them seated ).
Remember that in July 2022 the First 13 vehicles powered by CNG after the MCP approved the TUC’s II Cleaner Energy Plan in 2021 for the gradual replacement of polluting buses. Subsequently, in July 2023, six more vehicles with the same characteristics were added to the fleet.
Therefore, the MCP no longer includes diesel buses and continues with the gradual abandonment of this fuel in the Urban Transport fleet. It should be noted that diesel was the fuel continuously used to power Villavesas since this service began in 1929, over 90 years ago.
The abandonment of diesel and the incorporation of new buses powered by renewable gas fulfills a double objective: on the one hand, the new villavesas are “clean vehicles” without affecting the quality of urban air, anticipating the delimitation of Pamplona Low Emission Zone and, on the other hand, they are “carbon neutral” since when we use gas with a guarantee of renewable origin, we consume a fuel equivalent to an equal volume of biomethane injected into the network.
With this milestone, the Commonwealth moves towards its overall goal of being “Carbon neutral in 2030‘, being the first local entity in the state to use gas of renewable origin as fuel for buses.
Since 2014, when the Commonwealth began measuring and to certify the carbon footprint of your servicesthe impact on regional urban transport has already been reduced by 20.2% until 2023 (from 14,291.4 to 11,400.9 tCO2eq), despite an increase in the fleet of 14.4% (20 buses) over the same period and kilometers. annual routes in more than 333,000 (4.4%).
Circular economy. Urban waste will displace buses
Furthermore, over the next few years It will be the Commonwealth that produces its own biomethaneboth sludge from the Arazuri WWTP and the treatment of organic matter from urban waste in the new Imárcoain Environmental Center.
This project is part of a circular economy policy at the local level, so that this biomethane from waste from the Pamplona Region serves as fuel for the Commonwealth’s heavy vehicle fleets: TUC buses, refuse collection trucks and Integral Water Cycle maintenance vehicles.
Once this project is completed, all organic waste will serve as energy base to move fleets of buses and garbage trucks, before composting for agricultural purposes.
Gas supply installation
In 2022, the gas supply installation was carried out located in the outer field of the garages, which allows vehicles to be refueled. CNG-powered buses.
The system obtains gas from Nedgia Network and stabilizes the pressure before raising it using compressors up to 250 bars. The gas is then distributed to a storage area.
Bus charging is done by pressure difference. There are two gas filling points: one in the open-air fueling area and a second gas pump next to the bus parking entrance.
To power compressors and auxiliary services, builds a new 1,000 kVA electrical transformation center with an additional line for the installation of chargers for electric vehicles which has also been incorporated in the last two years.
The new gas buses
The two new articulated buses presented this Wednesday incorporate 235 kW (320 hp) engines and the four rigid buses They have 206 kW (280 hp) engines. Everyone has equipment air purification and they have security video cameras. The new vehicles have a double ramp (manual + electric) for wheelchair access, adapted and contrasted with the CERMIN.
The purchase of these vehicles was awarded in September 2022. Each articulated bus cost 445,000.00 euros (without VAT) and each rigid bus 342,500 euros, so the total acquisition amounts to 2,260,000.00 euros (excluding VAT).
A fleet of 163 vehicles with an average age of 6 years
The new vehicles have already been integrated into the fleet and in the coming days six of the oldest will be retiredwith which the TUC fleet will maintain the figure of 163 vehicles and the average age will be 6 years. Of the total fleet, 63 vehicles are articulated (18 meters), 98 are 12 meters and 2 are 10 meters. It should be noted that with the incorporation of the new vehicles, Regional Urban Transport has 66 diesel-electric hybrid vehicles, 26 electric and 25 motorized by gas of renewable origin, which means that 72% of the fleet is made up of energy-efficient vehicles.
