David Lampitt, engineering director for Guide Friday explains Guide Fridays’ commitment to converting their entire fleet of 200 tour buses to run on LPG.
As a leading tour operator we are very conscious of the need to protect the very buildings and environment which people take our tours to see. With this in mind a number of years ago we made a company decision to explore the possibilities of using a more environmentally friendly alternative fuel to diesel.
Selecting an environmentally friendly solution was simple, as the only real alternative fuel that was readily available and had a proven track record was liquefied petroleum gas, (LPG). It was at this point we contacted Calor Autogas, who visited our main service depot in Stratford and provided us with the refuelling solution we needed by installing an on-site bulk tank.
Because the conversion to LPG was such an important move for us we decided to build a dedicated facility at our maintenance depot in Stratford and take full control of the entire project. Due to the size of the engine needed to drive the bus we decided that the most cost effective conversion would be to re-engineer a diesel engine. At the time, to our knowledge, we were the only bus company attempting to do this.
As part of the research and development of the re-engineered engine we designed a number of parts and systems to make the process possible. We even invented and have patented our LPG fuel delivery system. Complete with speed governor to set the engine’s maximum speed and built in additional safety equipment for automatic fuel shut-off, using mercury tilt switches, we retrofitted our first LPG bus for use in Stratford in 1993.As you would expect, the development of the re-engineering process has taken a number of years to complete at considerable cost. As a privately owned company we have invested more than £350,000 over a five year period to build up the knowledge and unique facilities needed to carry out the LPG retrofitting process for double decker buses.
We are now at a stage where we have a total of 20 LPG powered tour buses operating in Lincoln, Stratford-on-Avon, York, Edinburgh, Dublin and now Oxford, with plans to retrofit our entire fleet of 200 buses to LPG.
In order to make this possible we have worked closely with Calor Autogas to ensure that adequate refuelling sites are available, close to our designated routes or garaging facilities. Calor Autogas has installed a number of refuelling sites on our own premises but it is only with help from Calor and Knowles and Son that we could launch and operate our first LPG tour bus in Oxford.
We have now scheduled the retrofitting of the remaining fleet of seven buses operating in Oxford, a process which will be completed in the next 18 months. Although the main reason for moving to LPG was the environment, because LPG is cheaper than diesel, we will be saving up to 60 per cent on fuel costs which translates to a payback time of two years for the cost of retrofitting a bus.
This means that by adopting LPG we not only have an environmental advantage, we also have a cost saving advantage over our competition.
Through our investment and training we now have a unique specialist LPG retrofitting facility in Stratford, backed up by a team of nine trained engineers, enabling us to retrofit our own vehicles and offer a full retrofitting and maintenance service to other bus companies.
We believe that LPG is the way forward and, working in partnership with Calor Autogas, we are confident that adopting LPG as our main fuel option will help us to grow our business and protect the environment.
Issued on behalf of Calor Autogas by Barkers Public Relations, Kennedy Tower, Snow Hill Queensway, Birmingham B4 6JB. For further information please contact Peter Haddock/Matthew Sutton at Barkers on Tel: 0121 236 9501.
Contact - Claire Petty
For further information call Calor Autogas on 0800 992200
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