Powering Buses from Waste

Stagecoach has launched a fleet of greener buses powered by household rubbish and animal waste.

The recycled waste is converted into biomethane, which will reduce carbon emissions from the buses by up to 40% and help cut landfill.

The innovative project has been launched in Lincoln, in partnership with Lincolnshire County Council and the East Midlands Development Agency, and involves 11 Optare Solo buses which have been converted to run on the low carbon fuel.

The direct £260,000 conversion costs have been funded by Lincolnshire County Council and the East Midlands Development Agency with Stagecoach East Midlands providing the buses from its Lincoln fleet. A further £100,000 joint funding has been invested in fuelling infrastructure.

The biomethane gas used to power the buses is derived from natural household and animal waste. The vehicle initially runs on diesel but a special gas electronic control system gradually reduces the use of the fossil fuel replacing it with biomethane without affecting the characteristics or performance of the bus. The converted vehicles are expected to deliver at least a 40% carbon savings compared to standard buses as well as improving fuel consumption. All 11 vehicles have also been fully refurbished.

In England, 11.9 million tonnes of waste is sent to landfill each year. The project will benefit the environment by converting household waste, which would otherwise go to landfill, into biomethane fuel.

Cleaner Engine Technology

Stagecoach is leading the way in investing in cleaner engine technology for its buses and trains.

Buses:

• Stagecoach invests in hundreds of new buses and coaches every year, which meet the latest Euro emissions standards.
• Over the past four years, Stagecoach has invested nearly £290 million in new state-of-the-art vehicles for its regional bus networks in Scotland, England and Wales.
• These buses have lower localised emissions, dramatically reducing harmful pollutants in our towns and cities.
• Stagecoach is also leading the UK with the introduction of green hybrid electric buses, which produce 30% less carbon emissions than standard vehicles. Around 120 hybrid electric vehicles costing a total of nearly £33 million are either in service or on order for Stagecoach bus networks across the UK. The buses feature an innovative regenerative braking system, which makes them more carbon and energy efficient.

Trains:

• Many of the engines on our high speed trains have been fitted with a special energy saving mode designed to cut fuel consumption, reduce carbon emissions and produce less noise.
• The technology, fitted on East Midlands Trains’ 27 Meridian units, allows selected engines to be turned off whilst the trains are sitting in stations.
• When a train is stood still in a station for more than seven minutes, the system will automatically shut down virtually all the engines.
• Passengers can still board the train, and the doors, electronic seat reservations/display screens, Wi-Fi and toilets all continue to work as normal. There are only minor changes to the train such as slightly reduced interior lighting, no power from the at-seat sockets and limited heating/air conditioning.
• Full power is restored to the train a few minutes before departure, allowing all on board services to operate as normal at departure time.

Energy Efficient Facilities

A hi-tech energy management system has helped cut annual heating energy consumption in our UK Bus division by more than a third.

• The system is in place at more than 100 Stagecoach sites in Scotland, England and Wales.
• It uses self-learning predictive programming, coupled with high accuracy temperature sensing. The system takes over the control of the existing heating and delivers improved control, staff comfort and dramatic reductions in energy consumption.
• Developed by Vickers Electronics Ltd, the system has reduced consumption of gas used for heating by around 35%.
• The system has also cut CO₂ emissions by more than 19,000 tonnes per annum, as well as saving more than £3 million a year in heating costs.
• Stagecoach and Vickers have also worked together to introduce a series of electrical controls at many Stagecoach sites - including control of depot lighting and air compressors - which have reduced electricity consumption by more than 10%.
• Further reductions in gas consumption have come from a programme to install shutter door delay sensors, which ensure doors are not left open beyond pre-set limits.

Sustainable Biofuel

Stagecoach operates the UK’s first BioBuses, which run on 100% sustainable biofuel.

• The buses have been running in Kilmarnock, Scotland, since 2007 and are fitted with dual fuel tanks – one for traditional mineral diesel and one for 100% biodiesel.
• Manufactured by Argent Energy Ltd, the biofuel is made from used cooking oil and other food industry by-products.
• These are sustainable sources that do not involve the destruction of natural habitats or compete with the human food chain.
• The buses initially start up using mineral diesel, but switch after a few minutes to biofuel, which is used to run the vehicles for the rest of the day.
• The BioBus initiative also allows customers to exchange their used cooking oil for discounted bus travel.
• The BioBus scheme in Kilmarnock has reduced CO2 emissions from the vehicles by 80% and more than 2 million passengers have used the buses since the project was introduced.
• More than 70 tonnes of used cooking oil has been recycled at East Ayrshire Council’s recycling plant since the start of the project, resulting in a reduction in material going to landfill.

Fuel Additive

Stagecoach uses a hi-tech fuel additive in its UK bus fleet to improve fuel efficiency and reduce carbon emissions.

• The fuel additive, Envirox^TM, was developed using sophisticated nanotechnology and Stagecoach first started using the product in 2004. It has resulted in a 5% reduction in fuel consumption and associated emissions.
• Based on a well-known oxidation catalyst widely used in catalytic converters, the material has been re-engineered using nanotechnology to allow it to be delivered as a fuel-borne catalyst. This ensures a cleaner burn within the combustion chamber, resulting in improved fuel efficiency and lower emissions.
• Nanotechnology is used to design and build materials at the atomic scale –1/80000th of the diameter of a human hair. No engine modifications are required to use Envirox^TM. It also has no impact on lubricant performance and the optimum dose rates are low.
• Over a five-year period, the additive reduced CO₂ emissions from our UK bus fleet by more than 100,000 tonnes. The saving equates to the average CO₂ emissions produced by more than 10,000 households in the UK over a 12-month period.
• Stagecoach continues to introduce Envirox^TM into new UK depots, which have been acquired or upgraded. We have also rolled it out in our Coach Canada operations, which cover Quebec and Ontario.

Fuel Efficient Driving

Stagecoach bus drivers in Scotland, England and Wales are using a hi-tech eco-driving system to help reduce fuel consumption and carbon emissions, improve passenger comfort and cut the risk of accidents.

• Some 13,800 Stagecoach drivers are using the GreenRoad 360 system. It uses a dashboard traffic lights-style system to provide drivers with real-time feedback on their driving style, including speed, braking, acceleration, lane-handling and turning. 
• Driving decisions are responsible for 90% of all accidents and up to 33% of fuel spent, according to research done by GreenRoad.
• Stagecoach is targeting a 4% reduction in fuel consumption using the technology, which is being rolled out on its fleet of 6,500 buses outside London. It follows a successful 12-month pilot programme in Cumbria.
• A key element of the initiative is an EcoDriver incentive scheme giving employees the chance to earn “green points” that are converted into financial benefits from a potential £900,000 annual bonus pot.
• Stagecoach is also one of the first UK companies to use GreenRoad’s new engine idling solution to further improve fuel performance. It is able to focus on specific vehicles or trips to identify unnecessary idling based on agreed thresholds. The sophisticated system is able to differentiate this from unavoidable idling that occurs at traffic lights and junctions.
• All Stagecoach drivers already undertake a Safe, Skilled and Fuel Efficient Driving training programme as part of a Certificate of Professional Competence.
• The GreenRoad system incorporates online reporting, analysis and coaching to help drivers work with their managers to further improve their skills and decision-making.

Reverse Vending Recycling

We have launched Scotland’s first reverse vending recycling initiative to encourage more people to switch to greener bus travel and reduce landfill.

• The innovative scheme is run in partnership with Aberdeenshire Council, offering discounted bus travel in return for used drinks cans and plastic bottles.
• A hi-tech reverse vending recycling machine has been introduced at Ellon Park and Ride facility, which is used by around 125,000 people every year, allowing commuters to recycle their waste and get cheaper sustainable travel.
• It uses advanced barcode technology to identify, sort, collect and recycle steel and aluminium drinks cans, as well as plastic drinks bottles.
• Consumers receive a Stagecoach green point for every item recycled at the facility, which they can then redeem for discounted bus travel and other offers.

Real Nappy Eco-partnership

Stagecoach is encouraging families to switch to using real nappies by offering a green travel incentive.

• The innovative eco-partnership with Perth and Kinross Real Nappy Network (PKRNN) involves giving a week’s free bus travel to parents signing up to use real nappies for their babies.
• Some 8 million disposable nappies are thrown away in the UK every day with 90% going to landfill – a total of 3 billion nappies every year.
• One baby will use a tonne of nappies each year and will be in nappies for an average of two-and-a-half years.
• Real nappies have around half the carbon footprint of disposables, which are believed to take hundreds of years to decompose.
• As well as the huge environmental benefit, using home laundered nappies could save parents around £500 on the cost of keeping a baby in disposables.

Train Regenerative Braking

A major £2.2 million regenerative braking project has been launched at South West Trains, the UK's biggest commuter rail franchise, to save energy and make our trains greener.

• More than 200 trains on the South West Trains network, which covers South West England running out of London Waterloo, are being fitted with the new technology.
• Energy produced by a standard train braking is currently lost, but the regenerative braking system returns electricity to the third rail system, allowing trains in close proximity to draw on the electrical supply.
• The initiative when fully implemented is conservatively expected to save 15 million kWh of electricity annually, enough to power more than 3,500 UK homes for an entire year.

Rail Smartcard Technology

Stagecoach Group was the first train operator in the UK to introduce a smart card for customers on the national rail network.

• The first pilot scheme was launched among a selection of season ticket holders at South West Trains, the country’s biggest commuter rail franchise, in November 2008.
• This helped test and perfect the ITSO smart card technology before it was rolled out further across the network.
• The StagecoachSmart travel card, which uses the ITSO technology, is now live on routes covering around 100 South West Trains stations.
• Passengers can buy ITSO smart season tickets either online, via the call centre or at ticket machines.
• Stagecoach has also introduced live ITSO smart ticketing on its East Midlands Trains franchise between Derby and St Pancras, with plans to roll it out progressively across the network during 2011.

Online Loyalty Programme

Stagecoach is the largest bus operator in the UK to join a high profile customer loyalty scheme designed to reward environmentally friendly purchases and promote greener lifestyles.

The Ice loyalty programme uses loyalty points to reward customers for choosing sustainable, environmentally friendly and energy saving products and services - anything from everyday essentials to enticing gifts and treats.

Under the scheme, Stagecoach bus passengers who buy tickets online at www.stagecoachbus.com will automatically be invited to join Ice. Once registered for the Ice loyalty programme, Stagecoach customers receive Ice points for purchasing with Stagecoach via www.myice.com.

The points they collect can then be redeemed on products from any of the other participating partners in the Ice programme. Customers can spend their Ice points as soon as they are available to get discounts or even to get products free of charge.

Similarly, people who purchase products from any of the other Ice partners involved in the programme can also receive discounts on Stagecoach bus tickets, thereby helping to promote bus travel as part of a greener lifestyle.

Bus Smartcard Technology

Stagecoach was the first major UK bus operator to complete the installation of Government-standard smart card ticket machines on its entire UK bus fleet outside London.

• All 6,800 vehicles in Stagecoach’s regional bus operations can accept smartcard transactions using the Government’s preferred ITSO technology. In London, all of the company’s 1,400 buses accept Transport for London’s Oyster card.
• We have also launched our own smart card StagecoachSmart, which can be used by passengers to store their tickets electronically. Customers also have the option to pay for their travel for through hassle-free automatic monthly payments.
• Stagecoach is rolling out StagecoachSmart travel cards across its regional bus operations, offering potential for further integration with other operators’ services where infrastructure and commercial agreements are in place.
• We were the first bus company in the UK to accept national concessionary travel smart cards across our entire bus fleet in both Scotland and Wales, and we also accept English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS) smart cards.

Tap and Go Bus Travel

Stagecoach was the first bus operator in the UK to accept Tap and Go^TM contactless bankcard payments.

• We have fitted our 170-strong Merseyside bus fleet with state-of-the-art technology which allows passengers to pay for their travel simply by tapping their debit or credit cards on a high-tech reader.
• The technology was introduced in October 2009 in partnership with MasterCard and RBS WorldPay.
• It is the first ever use of contactless bankcard payments on public transport in the UK.
• Passengers can make fast, convenient and safe payments under the value of £10 using their MasterCard^® PayPass^TM and Maestro^® PayPass^TM cards.
• Customers are still issued with a bus ticket as proof of purchase, but the system is a direct alternative to cash, saving customers fumbling for cumbersome coins or waiting for change.
• Cardholders in Liverpool can use the PayPass functionality in several shopping locations across the city to make small value payments quickly.

Wi-Fi Technology

Customers on our bus and rail services are benefitting from investment in Wi-Fi technology.

• Stagecoach has installed the technology on many of its coach and rail services, as well as some local buses, offering email and web access on move.
• Business travellers in particular can benefit from Wi-Fi access and use laptops, Blackberries, PDAs or mobile phones to access the internet while commuting.
• The technology is available on budget coach service megabus.com vehicles in North America, as well as some in the UK. Oxford Tube, Europe’s most frequent express coach service, also offers the technology, as well as some Stagecoach inter-urban coach services.
• East Midlands Trains offers Wi-Fi on all trains operating to and from London St Pancras.
• Stagecoach is also using Wi-Fi technology as part of a sophisticated vehicle tracking system to provide a real-time at-a-glance view of some of its coach fleet and precise locations of individual vehicles on the road via the web.

Rail Cycle Integration

Stagecoach is leading the way in delivering smarter travel by boosting rail-cycle integration and investing in facilities for cyclists.

• We launched the UK’s first green cycle hire initiative at South West Trains in February 2009 in partnership with Brompton Bicycle.
• The initiative is designed to encourage passengers to cycle as part of a fully integrated low carbon journey combining bike and train.
• The number of people cycling on London’s major roads has doubled since 2000 and Transport for London (TfL) is targeting a 5% mode share for cycling by 2025.
• Cycle hire schemes are popular elsewhere in Europe, with initiatives launched in major cities such as Paris, Brussels, Barcelona and Berlin.
• Passengers can hire South West Trains’ branded folding Brompton bicycles at London Waterloo station for as little as £2 a week.
• We have also launched a similar scheme at Richmond Station under a partnership between South West Trains, Cycling England, the Department for Transport (DfT) and Evans cycles.
• Surbiton station, for example, has been at the forefront of Transport for London’s programme working with local partners to enable cycle/rail commuting. It is the first station in London where cycle parking, shelter, security and access improvements were introduced. The station has also been the focus for tests of continental style double deck cycle racks and the replacement of car parking spaces with cycle parking.
• Innovative new Streetpods and Cyclepods have been installed at 29 stations across the East Midlands Trains network. The new ‘green’ pods, which are 100% recyclable and are made of 100% recycled material, have created spaces for an additional 200 bikes at stations.

Best Fare Finder

We are committed to giving our customers great value travel and have introduced a special online tool to help rail passengers to bag a bargain.

• East Midlands Trains’ new and improved Best Fare Finder provides a quick and easy way for passengers to access the cheapest available fare for around 450 different UK train journeys.
• Best Fare Finder compares ticket prices from multiple times of the day and days of the week on a single, easy to read page.
• This means if customers can be flexible about travel arrangements, they can quickly and easily find the cheapest train ticket available.  
• There are no booking fees and no credit or debit card charges for tickets purchased on the website, making it cheaper than most other online services..
• The Best Fare Finder scooped the award for Information Technology Excellence at the 2011 Rail Business Awards.
• Virgin Trains, our joint venture, also offers a best fare finder, allowing customers to search and identify the cheapest tickets across a range of date and time bands.

Rail Track Listening Device

A hi-tech rail track listening device is helping to improve safety on some of our rail services.

• South West Trains and Siemens, working in close collaboration with Network Rail, are piloting an innovative new system that can diagnose potential problems with trains by listening to them as they pass.
• The system, called RailBAM^®, monitors 300 train a day on the busy Wessex Route used by passengers travelling between London and Weymouth.
• It is the first permanent application of this technology in Europe and employs an array of hi-tech microphones mounted at the side of the track that listen to every individual axle bearing on each train.
• Information on how the bearings sound is then fed back securely to a database in real time, where it is compared to the sound of a perfect bearing. Sound analysis allows tiny bearing defects to be identified months before they become critical.
• The long term investment in the technology will minimise maintenance costs and passenger disruption, and improve safety.