One experiment,
two standards ahead,
five new buses.
n As part of the latest annual programme to overhaul the RTCR bus fleet, the Urban Community (CDA) decided to experiment with a new type of bus that complies with standards at least two generations ahead of those currently applicable in Europe.
Five of these new buses are now in service.
The buses, manufactured by Heuliez, a company in the Deux-Sèvres department, are built to EEV (Enhanced Environmentally-friendly Vehicle) standards. These standards place even lower caps on pollutant emissions than the Euro 5 standard, which is itself more restrictive than the current Euro 4 standard, in force until 2009. In other words, the new buses financed by the CDA have a far better environmental performance than is required by current regulations.
This environmental performance stems from two processes capable of limiting environmentally harmful exhaust. First, these buses are compatible with the Adblue additive. This chemical solution breaks down NOx produced by combustion into nitrogen and water, which are then discharged at the exhaust pipe. The second is a new particulate filter fitted on the buses. It cuts emissions of fine particles and hydrocarbon combustion residues to half the level permitted under the Euro 5 standard.
As one of the first urban communities in France to acquire this type of vehicle, the conurbation once again stands out as a pioneer in clean mobility solutions.
The €150 thousand investment was financed in part by European funds from the CIVITAS-SUCCES programme earmarked for innovative experiments in public transport.
The new buses are disability accessible, i.e. equipped with low floors, in conformity with the CDA’s Urban Development Plan for Accessibility in Public Transport, effective since 2004. Indeed, the goal set by the Urban Community in that Plan is that every bus in the fleet will be accessible to disabled people by 2015.
