Bus manufacturers commit to bring ‘soot-free’ buses to 20 megacities

27 September 2017

Four of the world’s largest bus and engine manufacturers—BYD, Cummins, Scania and Volvo Buses—have committed to ensure ‘soot-free’ urban bus engine technology is available for purchase in 20 megacities beginning in 2018. The manufacturers will each release through their websites a full product portfolio available in each city and will begin publicly reporting the number of soot-free buses sold in each year.

Soot free is defined as including any engine that meets Euro VI or US EPA 2010 emission standards, and any diesel engine with a diesel particulate filter, gas-powered engine, or a dedicated electric drive engine.

The cities involved in the scheme are Abidjan, Accra, Addis Ababa, Bangkok, Bogotá, Buenos Aires, Casablanca, Dar es Salaam, Dhaka, Istanbul, Jakarta, Johannesburg, Lagos, Lima, Manila, Mexico City, Nairobi, Santiago, Sao Paulo, and Sydney.

Less than 20% of all buses sold globally meet the definition of soot-free—according to the ICCT—with the vast majority being diesel powered. Older generation diesel technology produces high levels of soot emissions, which are amongst the most dangerous pollutants for public health and a major contributor to climate change. The cleanest buses can reduce these emissions by more than 99%.

The Global Industry Partnership on Soot-Free Clean Bus Fleets is an initiative led by C40 Cities, the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC), and International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), Centro Mario Molina Chile and UN Environment. The commitment was announced at the CCAC Clean Buses for Clean Air Workshop in Paris.

Source: ICCT