Hydrogen powered buses start operating in Belgium this month

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Hydrogen powered buses start operating in Belgium this month

[ 06 Aug 2007, Rob Cockerill, gasworld.com ]

Hydrogen public transport is fast becoming a viable alternative

From late August onwards, the Belgian bus company De Lijn will operate 2 hybrid hydrogen bus routes around the country, in journeys around Antwerp and as part of a public-private partnership.

The bus can take 104 passengers, coupling the fuel cells to a tank containing 40kg of hydrogen and an efficient electric motor which gives the bus a minimum range of 350km.

The hydrogen bus is an example of a public-private partnership and came about as a result of the support of the Flemish Government, UTC Power, Siemens, IWT-Vlaanderen, Air Liquide and De Lijn.

UTC Power supplied the fuel cell, Air Liquide both the filling station and the hydrogen, with Siemens developing the propulsion system and De Lijn advising bus manufacturer Van Hool about the interior of the bus.

Managing director Leopold Van Hool commented, "I'm delighted, thanks to support from the Flemish government and De Lijn, that our company has contributed to the improvement in the air quality around our towns and villages. We need to realise that this technically advanced product could only have been developed as a result of the cooperation between the government, the user and the commercial sector."

The difference between existing fuel cell buses and this latest innovation is that this model is capable of being driven by 2 sources, using less fuel than those running purely on hydrogen and increasing economic viability.

Bus Route Map (Antwerp): http://www.delijn.be/documentatie/antwerpen/netplan_antwerpen07.pdf

Company Home page: delijn.be

Story source: http://www.gasworld.com/news.php?a=1883;l=1


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The Antwerp tram system

Antwerp has a population of 461,496.

The city has 11 tram lines at present with one under construction.

Tram map: http://www.delijn.be/documentatie/antwerpen/tramnet07.pdf

Like every other city and town in Europe (unlike Irish cities, where public transport seems to be run by total morons), it has proper public transport maps.

Network map: http://www.delijn.be/documentatie/antwerpen/netplan_antwerpen07.pdf

And integrated ticketing:
http://www.delijn.be/vervoerbewijzen/tarieven.asp

It is high time that Dublin dumped its chip card integrated ticketing system, which has turned into a bottomless hole for public money, and adopted ISO (credit card size) tickets with Luas type random inspection and fines, on all public transport services. Buses would board far more quickly with all doors open, people could hop from one bus or tram to another bus or tram in a few seconds, and the entire system would be more likely to be on time and thus more useful as a result.


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Mailman

probe wrote:

It is high time that Dublin dumped its chip card integrated ticketing system, which has turned into a bottomless hole for public money, and adopted ISO (credit card size) tickets with Luas type random inspection and fines, on all public transport services. Buses would board far more quickly with all doors open, people could hop from one bus or tram to another bus or tram in a few seconds, and the entire system would be more likely to be on time and thus more useful as a result.

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I wouldn't expect a random inspection system to work very well on the no. 39 as it requires co-operation from the skangers who use the 39. the same skangers who vandalise the bus and intimidate the decent people who would use the bus forcing them back in to their cars.

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Mailman wrote:

I wouldn't expect a random inspection system to work very well on the no. 39 as it requires co-operation from the skangers who use the 39. the same skangers who vandalise the bus and intimidate the decent people who would use the bus forcing them back in to their cars.

Random ticket inspections provide far greater control flexibility than the current non-system where most people seem to end up having to pay the driver, leading to delay – and keeping the driver’s attention away from the issue at hand – i.e. driving and controlling bus with 30 to 70 people on board.

The bus operator can tailor the random ticket inspection process depending on the problems of a particular route – ranging from 1 inspector checking 1% of the services on what one might call civilised routes to perhaps 4 inspectors with armed police and army backup running 100% audits of all services on a particular route, extracting fines of several hundred Euros from non-payers to finance the exercise. Fines can vary depending on the case type. In France the “on board tariff” which applies to people who board public transport without a valid ticket can vary from a surcharge of about 25€ (on top of the ticket price) where the individual walks up to the ticket checker when he enters the vehicle or carriage, to multiple times this amount where the individual waits until he is asked to produce a ticket and has none (ie the inference taken is fraudulent intent).

The entire French railway system operates on a self-service/self-checking process, and very occasionally one comes across several armed police with dogs accompanying ticket checkers in troublesome areas. They only have to do a blitz for a short time to teach the “skangers” as you call them that it is cheaper to behave and buy a ticket and not vandalise the equipment.

Luas has a low level of fraud on all lines. There is no reason why the same system wouldn’t be equally effective on all other forms of public transport in Ireland.

Give people civilised public transport and they will use it and respect it.

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