Sustainability

Each year, PostBus Switzerland Ltd transports well over 145 million passengers to their destination safely and on time. The range of services it provides is growing from year to year. As a leader in public bus transport systems management in Switzerland, PostBus is committed to providing its services sustainably. What does this mean for a company with a fleet of over 2,238 – mostly diesel – Postbuses?

PostBus has already taken measures at various levels to reduce fuel consumption. PostBus is also leading the way when it comes to testing new technologies and bringing them on stream. A yellow Volvo parallel hybrid bus has been in operation since April 2010. Back then, it was the first of what is now a widely used and proven type of vehicle in Switzerland. Since December 2011, PostBus has been testing fuel cell technology, the first transport company in public transport in Switzerland to do so. To refuel the fuel cell Postbuses, we built Switzerland’s first hydrogen filling station in Brugg in the canton of Aargau.

PostBus Switzerland Ltd wants to lead by example in this sector and to establish standards where possible. To this end, it has signed up as a full member of the UITP (International Association of Public Transport) Sustainable Development Charter.

Charter UITP

PostBus - as the first regional transport company in Switzerland - has joined the UITP charter for sustainable development as an active member. In doing so, it acknowledges sustainable development in an economic, ecological and social respect as a strategic ambition of the company. The signing took place in Brussels on 18 thSeptember 2010. The international public transport association UITP has over 3,200 employees worldwide.

Operation and Vehicle Optimisation

PostBus consumes about 42 million litres of diesel annually in Switzerland, which is why it supports easing the burden on the environment from fuel emissions and promotes the reduction of fuel consumption. Examples of this include:

Pioneering work with carbon-neutral fuel cell Postbuses
Procurement of hybrid vehicles
Efficient turnaround cycles
Training of drivers in eco-drive techniques
Support for drivers through regular monitoring by eco-coaches

Fuel consumption of PostBus Switzerland Ltd

	2010	2013
Diesel:	39 600 000 Liter	42 000 000 Liter
Natural gas:	70 300 kilograms	44 000 kilograms
Petrol:	8 000 litres	2 400 litres
Km	103 200 000 km	107 600 000 km

CO 2 performance of PostBus (carbon footprint in t CO 2 equivalent)

2013: 107 600 000 km	136 619 t CO 2
2012: 107 000 000 km	135 331 t CO 2
2011: 104 300 000 km	130 353 t CO 2
2010: 103 200 00 km	127 076 t CO 2

Emission standards

Since January 2014, only vehicles that meet the emission standard EURO 6 can be operated in Switzerland. In mid-2014, the proportion of Postbuses that meet the strict emission standards Euro 5, EEV or Euro 6 is already 44% of the total fleet. The older vehicles that do not meet modern emission standards are primarily replacement vehicles and are mainly used in exceptional situations. The majority of passenger services are provided with vehicles that meet at least Euro 3.

Accompanying measures

Since the end of 2013, 16 eco-coaches have been at work accompanying drivers in their everyday work, analysing their driving style together with them, and making suggestions for improvement on the road. Before they can receive coaching, drivers must have already taken an Eco-Drive course and be familiar with the principles of eco-driving. The Eco-Drive courses are offered by the PostBus driving school, and almost all drivers have attended this one-day course in the last five years.

As a further measure, fuel consumption figures are evaluated periodically. To encourage positive consumption trends, the evaluations are regularly presented to staff, and a portion of the savings are passed on to the drivers.

Reducing dependence on fossil fuels

The long-term goal of a fleet must be to become independent from fossil fuels. Today this is still not fully attainable. The fleet of PostBus consists primarily of diesel buses, supplemented with some natural gas and hybrid buses (diesel-electro). The latter save at least 30% of fuel in comparison with a pure diesel bus. Unfortunately due to the acquisition costs remaining high, the economic efficiency of these is not yet comparable with that of the diesel buses, which is why many pure diesel vehicles are still considered when purchasing new buses. The comparison shows the simplified advantages and disadvantages of various drive systems.

Hydro-powered fuel cell buses might be the solution. The EU has long since recognised that mobility and fossil fuels conflict with each other and decided to build a new infrastructure without the reliance on fossil fuels. Various projects are promoted for this purpose. PostBus takes part in one of these internationally observed projects: the project CHIC (Clean Hydrogen in European Cities).

Fuel Cell Buses

PostBus is the first public transport company in Switzerland to introduce fuel cell buses. This is done as part of a test supported by the EU (Project CHIC).

From the end of 2011 there will be five new fuel cell buses in scheduled services being introduced in and around Brugg in the Swiss canton of Aargau. They convert the tanked hydrogen fuel into electrical driving energy. Consequently the electrically operated postbuses run very quietly. The ejected emission consists solely of water vapour. PostBus expects to save at least 2,000 tons of CO 2during the five year trial phase.

The principle of sustainable ecology is particularly emphasised. The required hydrogen is 100 percent recovered from renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and hydro power (naturemade basic). So the production of the required fuel CO 2acts neutrally.

The five Citaro FuelCELL hybrid buses are low floor buses with a third generation Mercedes-Benz fuel cell drive. The prototype was launched in 2009. In 2015 the Mercedes-Benz Citaro FuelCELL hybrid buses should be ready to go into series production according to statements from the manufacturer.

The first Swiss hydrogen filling station

The production process involves using an electrolyser to turn water and electricity into hydrogen. When electricity is passed through water, the water splits into its components, hydrogen and oxygen. Two high-pressure compressors pressurise the hydrogen to at least 410 bar. It is then stored in high-pressure accumulators. The hydrogen can eventually be used to fill the fuel cell postbuses fully automatically at the filling pump at a pressure of up to 350 bar. To power the vehicles the hydrogen in the fuel cells is turned back into electricity by combining it with oxygen in a controlled manner. The function of the hydrogen is to store electricity.

Electricity from renewable energy sources

100% of the hydrogen used to fill the fuel cell postbuses is obtained from renewable energy sources such as hydroelectricity, solar power, wind power and biomass energy.