Bus Centre of Excellence

This Sustainable Transport Masterclass began with the introduction of the new CIHT Initiative Bus Centre of Excellence (BCoE) in partnership with the Department for Transport (DfT). James Ford – the Head of the BCoE – spoke about the work that has already been done up-to-date and the team’s ambitious plans.

• BCoE will raise capability and share best practices among all involved in delivering better bus services and infrastructure.
• BCoE aims to help train a new generation of bus professionals ready to deliver excellence, seizing opportunities and meeting challenges now and in the future.
• BCoE will tell the world what buses have to offer, raising awareness amongst stakeholders and decision-makers of buses’ role in a net zero transport system.

From ‘Green & Cream to Green’

David Astill, Managing Director of Nottingham City Transport – winner of Britain’s Best Bus Awards five times – spoke about ‘From Green & Cream to Green.’ He explained how the former operator of one of the largest provincial trolleybus fleets in the country has experimented with alternative fuels and is now returning to electric traction.

• After testing several different options, Nottingham launched gas buses in 2017. Now there are 143 buses, and it is the largest double-deck fleet of bio-gas buses in the world.
• Political situation and the current war in Ukraine drastically impact gas prices; thus, there is a greater focus on electric bus trials. But one of the concerns now is not only the cost of new buses but also the significant infrastructure improvement that is needed to support the fleet.
• Nottingham City Council has a target to become carbon neutral by 2028 (CN28). Hence, half of the bus fleet needs to be replaced in the next 5 years. More funding is required to achieve this ambitious target.

UCL Project on thermal comfort on buses

Nick Tyler, Professor of Civil Engineering and the Director of the University College London (UCL) Centre for Transport Studies, shared with us some interesting findings of the current UCL and Transport for London (TfL) Project on thermal comfort on buses:

• Often, people do not pay attention to the actual temperature on the bus (instead they hold perceptions such as: ‘It feels a bit hot’ or ‘It feels a bit cold/uncomfortable’). Thus, the focus should be shifted from the desire to achieve a certain temperature to making people feel comfortable on board.
• The main finding was that if people felt their feet were cold – they felt uncomfortable, irrespective of what the temperature was.
• The key point was in winter it is important to keep people’s feet warm; and in the summer - when it is hot – it is important to keep peoples’ heads cool.
• During the summer, it takes a vast amount of energy to cool the bus down, even by just a few degrees.
• Regardless of the network design, the thermal comfort is more difficult to moderate for passengers sitting close to the doors or near the stairs.
• There is a need for a new bus design where the heating system is delivered at the floor level, and the cooling system – at the head level.

You can see the recording of the webinar in the Members Area of the website.

If you are interested, you can find out more about the CIHT/DfT initiative: Bus Centre of Excellence.

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If you would like more information about this masterclass and presentations, please contact technical@ciht.org.uk

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