The towns of Nantes and Saumur integrate CNG-powered Scania Citywide Low Floor buses into their fleets, reducing their carbon footprint, and improving passenger comfort. The TAN 59, 69, 89, and 93 lines of Nantes, operated by STAO 44 Transdev, have, in recent weeks, taken delivery of 17 Scania Citywide Low Floor GNC CNG-powered buses. These are the first CNG-powered Scania buses in the Nantes metropolitan area. The Citywide Low Floor GNC has 21 seats and 77 standing seats, and two handicap seats accessible by a removable ramp. The 12 meter long buses were all assembled at the Caps, Scania Adaptation and Preparation Centre in Angers, and feature a 280hp 9-liter engine, complemented by a ZF automatic transmission.

Operated by STAO Transdev on behalf of TAN (the public transport operator for the Nantes metropolitan area), they will serve lines 59 (Mendes-France Bellevue-Bout des Landes), 69 (Orvault-Marnière-Sautron), 89 (Le Cardo-Beauséjour), and 93 (Hospital La-nance-Bobby Sands- Hauts de Couon).

In total, TAN operates more than 500 vehicles, including nearly 400 buses, 90% of which run on natural gas. About 30 million kilometers are covered each year in the Nantes metropolitan area.

In Saumur, three Citywide Low Floor GNC buses have just been put into circulation by Saumur Agglobus. Acquired via the CATP (Public Transport Purchasing Centre), they will complete the fleet of about twenty buses run by Saumur Agglobus and mark the first deployment of CNGpowered vehicles for the company.

With three doors, the Citywide Low Floor GNV has 21 seats and 77 standing seats, including two handicap seats accessible by removable ramp. Air conditioning and USB sockets complement the equipment of these Citywide buses.

Propane and CNG powered buses operate noticeable quieter than diesel and gasoline. Additionally, conventional natural gas can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20 to 25 percent. Depending on its source, biogas can provide an 80% or more reduction source-towheels greenhouse gas emissions reduction, and biogas from agricultural waste can have a net negative greenhouse gas footprint.

This feature appears courtesy of Scania France.