The city bus lines of Delitzsch in Northern Saxony will soon be operated exclusively by natural gas-powered vehicles following the investment by local bus company Auto Webel in environmentally friendly technology, a move supported by the regional government with a grant of €60,000 (USD 66k). The city has purchased three buses thus far, with more soon to be delivered.
In addition, the County Administration, which is responsible for the local transport sector, is also planning to adopt the Delitzsch initiative as a pilot project for promotion to other cities and rural services. To this end, the agency donated €10,000 to support the marketing process.
Auto Webel’s CEO, Christian Webel, explained the benefits of operating with natural gas to local news service Leipziger Volkszeitung: “We are driving under almost CO2-neutral conditions. CO2 emissions are 98% lower than diesel buses, while fine-particulate emissions are 75% lower. In addition, the vehicles are much quieter, when idling and while driving.”
The bus company began testing the gas-powered buses in 2016 and concluded that this technology is reliable and can be integrated into the current fleet.
