Ecolink Ethanol Buses
In 2007, Nottingham City Transport became the first company in the UK to introduce Ethanol powered "Eco" buses. Named "Ecolink 30", the service uses a combination of standard diesel powered Scania OmniCity buses and 3 specially converted ethanol Scania OmniLink buses on its Pink Line 30 route.
The ethanol powered buses are painted in a special "Ecolink" livery which uses flowers and leaves along the side of the bus to symbolise the "green-ness" of the buses. They also use the slogan "Go Green" combined with the information that they reduce CO2 emissions by around 30 tonnes. The standard diesel buses used on the route are painted in the standard green of Nottingham City Transport "Nottingham Network" buses.
The ethanol buses are equipped with a colour LCD destination display, an LCD screen onboard which allows advertisements &/or CCTV footage to be played, a Star Trak GPS locating system which allows for real time ETA's to be displayed at electronic bus stop timetable displays and also allows for the next stop to be displayed on the buses onboard electronic display (Above the "Bus Stopping" sign). The bus also has a low floor to allow for wheelchair/buggy access and is equipped with an extendable ramp to allow wheelchair users to board the bus when there is a gap between the bus door and the pavement.
The buses were purchased by Nottingham City Council using funding from the East Midlands Development Agency (EMDA) which allowed them to purchase 3 ethanol powered buses and construct an ethanol fuelling station. The buses are operated and maintained by Nottingham City Transport.
The buses are also often used on the W3 route which runs 4 times a day during the week.
Read more about this topic: Nottingham City Transport