Buses and coaches paint a green environment for all

VISITORS to the Busworld Asia 2008 in Shanghai find that the public transport industry is going green.

Commercial vehicles are required to be more fuel-efficient and eco-friendly. With demand expected to be heavy for public transport, especially with the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2010 Shanghai World Expo, the issue of environmentally friendly will become more important and a buzzword.

Shanghai Sunwin, the venture formed by SAIC Motor and Swedish bus maker Volvo, displayed its latest electricity bus and an 18-meter-long bus, which it hopes will serve the Shanghai Expo, said its Vice General Manager Huang Zheng at the exhibition, which displays buses and coaches powered by diversified energy sources such as ethanol, natural gas and electricity.

The firm said the battery-powered electricity bus was able to save energy by 65 percent and emit zero waste after a trial on Shanghai's public transport system in 2006.

Higer Bus Co Ltd, one of China's top three bus and coach makers, teamed up with its Swedish partner Scania to promote ethanol models.

Gao Wenbo, deputy manager of Higer, said the firm spent about 10 million yuan (US$1.4 million) to 20 million yuan developing greener products which also include mass-produced models powered by natural gas and prototypes of hydrogen and hybrid models.

But experts said China lacks the infrastructure to promote the widespread use of ethanol buses.

Buses and coaches on the Chinese mainland are required to meet the Euro III emission standard from this year. Beijing and Shanghai are planning to impose the more stringent Euro IV standard soon.

The exhibition, which will end on Friday at Shanghai New International Expo Center in Pudong New Area, has attracted 195 exhibitors from 20 countries and regions.