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Green hybrid bus to be trialled in Cairns
MP Steve Wettenhall pictured with a trial qconnect hybrid bus.
In a major step toward “greening” Queensland’s bus fleet, the State Government is today launching a trial of a hybrid diesel-electric bus in Sunbus Cairns services.
Member for Barron River Steve Wettenhall said Cairns was chosen to host the first trial because it has the highest public transport patronage of any regional city, a wide variety of road types and a tropical climate.
“Cairns is the ideal place for us to assess how well the bus performs in many different situations,” he said. “The trial will assess potential emission reductions and test the viability of hybrid diesel-electric bus technology under various Queensland conditions.”
Public transport services in Queensland are already among the greenest and smartest but with a hybrid diesel-electric bus, greenhouse gas emissions from public transport may be further reduced.
” Mr Wettenhall said the qconnect hybrid vehicle is a 41-seat BCI bus with air-conditioning and wheelchair accessibility. “The trial will be evaluated against fuel economy, safety and environmental impacts,” he said.
The Department of Transport and Main Roads is working in partnership with the Queensland University of Technology to ensure that accurate emissions’ testing is undertaken.
The data gathered from the trial will be compared to evaluation data from other technologies currently in use or being tested, as well as trials undertaken in other jurisdictions.
The trial will assist transport authorities and service providers to make more informed vehicle purchasing decisions in the future. Mr Wettenhall said the trial of the qconnect hybrid bus will have no impact on fares.
“Passengers are unlikely to notice any obvious differences between the hybrid bus and the buses they regularly use, other than a quieter ride.” “The qconnect hybrid bus will be dressed in a distinctive green livery, making it easily identifiable from any other bus on the regional networks.
A second hybrid bus will be trialled in 2012-13 in South-East Queensland. The Low Emission Bus Trials are an initiative under the Queensland Government’s climate change strategy, ClimateQ: toward a greener Queensland and are funded by the Queensland Climate Change Fund.
The trial also contributes to the Queensland Government’s Toward Q2 green target to cut by Queenslanders’ carbon footprint by one third though reduced car and electricity use.
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