Hybrid Bus Test Program in Latin America

The Volvo 7700 Hybrid bus will debut in Latin America as part of CCI’s Hybrid Bus Test Program. The low-emissions bus is engineered to run efficiently on blended biodiesel, in accordance with local regulations.

The Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI) has launched the Latin America Hybrid Bus Test Program to improve the fuel efficiency and emissions of public transportation in Latin America. The transportation sector is the largest and fastest-growing source of urban carbon dioxide emissions in the region, as more people become dependent on motorized transport. CCI works actively to help partner cities develop cost-effective transit systems that increase urban mobility and to advance low-carbon transportation technologies.

CCI’s Latin America Hybrid Bus Test Program seeks to develop the regional market for hybrid bus technology. By addressing both demand and supply-side barriers to deployment, and by stimulating local production of hybrid buses, the program aims to bring down the cost of the technology and foster its uptake. In four participating cities — Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Curitiba, and Bogotá — where CCI works in partnership with the local governments, and in conjunction with a parallel World Bank initiative in Mexico City, the program will test hybrid buses in conventional and Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) applications. To support this work, CCI has mobilized significant in-kind contributions and secured a $1.5 million grant from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

Working in Partnership

Program implementation across the partner cities is now underway with the design of test protocols to assess and share information about bus technology performance. To this end, CCI has secured the participation of regional and multi-national bus suppliers, including Agrale S.A., Eletrabus, Tuttotrasporti, and the Volvo Bus Corporation. At the same time, CCI and the IDB are working together to identify financing mechanisms that can cover the current hybrid bus price premium with the savings on fuel that will accrue over the life cycle of the bus.

Strong Potential

The Latin American Hybrid Bus Test Program has strong potential to reduce the carbon footprint of the public transportation sector in the region. By 2016, it aims to catalyze the deployment of at least 9,300 hybrid buses, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by more than 566,000 tons and diesel fuel use by more than 18.6 million gallons. Cities’ potential cost savings, therefore, could exceed $74 million. In its first phase, 10 hybrid buses, supplied by several manufacturing partners, will be tested and compared to normal diesel buses to evaluate performance and fuel savings in different city-specific duty cycles and driving conditions. The results of these tests will contribute to a life-cycle analysis, which CCI and its partners will conduct to support the development of financial and market deployment strategies.

"The Clinton Climate Initiative has initiated an ambitious program, which will show that the actions required to mitigate climate change need not be costly to society," says Edward Jobson, director of environment for Volvo Bus Corporation. "The tests are designed to give the most accurate and comprehensive evaluation of the true environmental performance and economic benefits of hybrid buses — and their results will be extremely valuable in establishing both the environmental and business case for a city’s potential investment in hybrid buses. We therefore support the program actively."

http://www.clintonfoundation.org/what-we-do/clinton-climate-initiative/i/hybrid-bus-test-program