Diesel-electric bus is part of pilot project to gauge fuel savings, reduced emissions

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By Yvon Gauvin
Times & Transcript staff

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It doesn't look that much different. Just another school bus, you'd think.

But the bus being tried out in Moncton School District 2 today could prove an important new addition to the province's arsenal in the war on greenhouse gas emissions.

The 72-passenger bus, made by the IC Corporation, is a hybrid bus with a diesel engine supplemented by an electrical motor, and is only the second in Canada. The other is in use in Kelowna, B.C.

The $180,000 bus is part of a pilot project to see how well it performs in urban centres against a fleet of new school buses also put into operation in various school districts this year.

The fleet consists of 85 new diesel engine buses bought at a cost of $6.7 million and equipped with devices to significantly reduce the amount of particulate emissions into the atmosphere. The 85 buses are part of the ongoing program to replace aging buses. New Brunswick has about 1,200 school buses on the road during the school year.

The hybrid bus, which cost more than twice a regular school bus, has a large battery under the chassis and a regenerating system, meaning it doesn't require plugging into an electrical outlet to charge the battery after it runs down.

The electric motor boost power during starts and whenever additional power is required such as climbing hills, thus reducing the demand for fuel.

The manufacturer boasts fuel savings of 20 to 50 per cent and particulate emission reduction of up to 90 per cent with the hybrid compared to the older diesel powered school buses in use today.

"My department is working continuously to be a leader in green transportation, and this new bus is part of our work to make the New Brunswick government fleet a model user of alternative fuel technologies," Transportation Minister Denis Landry said this week.

He said DOT and the Department of Education opted to try out the new bus in Moncton because hybrid buses perform best in urban areas and because there is a IC Corporation dealership in the city.

The New Brunswick Climate Change Action Fund paid for the new bus with a contribution of $180,000.

"New Brunswick must achieve a sustainable environment that will enable our communities to continue attracting more people, businesses and investment to be self-sufficient by 2026," said Environment Minister Roland Haché.

This school bus will bring "a significant reduction in green house gas emissions and help our province reach the goals of the New Brunswick Climate Change Action Plan," he added.

The five-year plan launched in 2007 seeks to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 5.5 megatonnes annually in 2012.