ECO-FRIENDLY: The bus that runs on bio-diesel. - Photo: P.V. Sivakumar

Hyderabad: The bio-diesel bus that was flagged off by Chief Minister Y.S. Rajashekhara Reddy on World Environment Day may not be a sensation. But it's cost-efficiency and significantly lower emission of gases is impressive.

The bus, which travels from Dilshukhnagar to Sanathnagar on route 158L, may not promise a joyride. But boarding a bus that says in big bright letters, "I am fuelled by bio-diesel" may in itself be a pleasure.

The bus has the same pickup as the ones running on high-speed diesel. The mileage is the same too at 4.6 km per litre, says APSRTC Chief Mechanical Engineer (Operations) P.V.D. Jayasankar Prasad.

Because it is the only bus of its kind, there is no separate filling station for it. The bio-diesel is supplied from a company called Southern Online Biotechnologies Limited (SBT), which sends the required quantities in barrels.

Presently, authorities add 10 to 15 litres of bio-diesel to 40 to 49 litres of diesel based on the consumption. The fuel that is used consists of 20 per cent bio-diesel and 80 per cent diesel, a blend that is termed B20, says Mr. Prasad.

Bio-diesel is cheaper than diesel by Rs. 7. While diesel is available at Rs. 32.29 paise per litre, bio-diesel costs only Rs. 25 per litre. The bus, on an average, requires 12 to 15 litres per day, Mr. Prasad says.

As far as pollution is concerned, smoke samples analysed by the Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board (APPCB) show that emission levels are lower by 20 per cent, he says.

The performance of the bus, which is being run on an experimental basis for six months, will be reviewed at the end of these six months. The review may hold the key to the future of bio-diesel as a fuel for public transport.

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