Oxford has its first environmentally friendly bus thanks to Calor Autogas and local tour operator Guide Friday. The Autogas (automotive liquefied petroleum gas) powered tour bus was launched on Thursday 9 August by Deputy Lord Mayor, Councillor Dr Robert Hoyle.
The new greener bus marks a major breakthrough in the move to clean up the air quality in Oxford’s city centre while continuing to encourage tourism. With the cleaner burning qualities of Calor Autogas the emissions from the new re-engineered diesel bus will be dramatically reduced.
The success of the project has been made possible thanks to Calor Autogas who put Guide Friday in touch with local building contractors, Knowles and Son, who in turn have allowed Guide Friday to use their on-site bulk tank to refuel their bus with Calor Autogas.
“This is great news for the beautiful City of Oxford, where air quality is such an important issue to the public and the tourist industry. You only have to be a cyclist or pedestrian behind an old diesel vehicle, with dirty and unpleasant emissions, to know that Autogas is cleaner, ” said Barry Ohrman, market development manager for Calor Autogas.
“Being able to help companies like Guide Friday and Knowles and Son to become more environmentally friendly is all part of our commitment to offer a cleaner alternative to petrol and diesel. With government pressures for clean air zones and continuing pressure from the public for environmentally friendly transport solutions, bus companies and councils in particular can’t afford to ignore the environmental benefits of adopting Autogas,” he added.
The new Calor Autogas powered bus will soon be joined by seven other Guide Friday tour buses operating in Oxford, all of which are having their diesel engines re-engineered to run on Calor Autogas at Guide Friday’s specialist re-engineering facility in Stratford upon Avon.
Commenting on the launch David Lampitt, engineering director for Guide Friday said, “As a company that promotes the beauty of Oxford, we were very conscious of the need to protect the very buildings and environment which people take our tours to see. This launch represents the culmination of months of planning and investment and could only have been achieved by the efforts and co-operation of Calor Autogas and Knowles and Son.”
“Not only will emissions be reduced but because Autogas is a cleaner burning fuel, the engine itself will also be quieter, reducing noise pollution while adding to the comfort of our passengers,” he added.
As Calor Autogas is the UK’s leading supplier of Autogas, Guide Friday and Knowles and Son now have access to an unrivalled supply network and support infrastructure with a dedicated customer service team based in Warwick.
Commenting on the use of their facilities, Knowles and Son’s managing director Tony Munsey said, ”When we discovered from Calor Autogas that Guide Friday were looking for somewhere to refuel their buses, we were more than happy to oblige. We already had the tank installed and were conveniently placed next to their bus storage depot, close to their designated tour route. But most importantly we had ample space to allow their buses to drive into the depot so no alterations to the site were necessary.”
For further information contact Calor Autogas on 0800 992200.
CALOR AUTOGAS FACTS
- Calor Autogas retails at half the price of petrol with on-site fuel bunkering facilities providing even greater savings for businesses operating back to base fleets.
- Calor Autogas is a cleaner burning fuel with reduced emissions and no NOx particulates.
- Autogas engine conversions are suitable for petrol engines with the latest technology making it possible to re-engineer diesel engines to run on Autogas
- There are currently over 790 Autogas refuelling sites in the UK with 1,000 sites predicted by the end of 2001.
Many top manufacturers are supplying popular models factory-fitted for use with Calor Autogas: Volvo, VW, Vauxhall and LDV.
GUIDE FRIDAY FACTS
- Guide Friday operates over 250 buses in 38 towns and cities in 7 different countries and employs over 1000 people world-wide. Pioneers of the “hop on, hop off” system.
- Guide Friday buses carry over 1.5 million people every year. They first began tours in Oxford in March 1989 - over 12 years of continuous tours - all year round.
- Guide Friday employs almost 100 staff in Oxford including office staff, engineers, drivers, guides and ticket sellers. Customers are offered a wide variety of discounts at places to eat, shop and stay, encouraging visitors to stay longer and re-visit Oxford, benefiting the local economy.
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 - Clare Petty
For further information call Calor Autogas on 0800 992200
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