KSRTC to go green, run 1,800 buses on biodiesel

The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) has planned to run 1,800 of its 8,300 buses on biodiesel. The select buses will run on 20% biodiesel and 80% diesel.

Currently, all KSRTC buses are running on diesel completely. The KSRTC has now decided to reduce the diesel component after a series of trials and tests it carried out with biodiesel has turned out successful.

The talk of bio-diesel has been there for long, but its implementation had not taken place as officials were unsure how the combination of bio-diesel and diesel would work. The KSRTC has been plying a few buses on the biodiesel and diesel combination on a trial basis. “In terms of engine performance, vibrations, body imbalance, extra sound etc, the buses performed well and did not show undue signs of stress of any kind. The fuel efficiency too worked out well. This has prompted us to go in for a combination of 20%  biodiesel and 80% diesel,” KSRTC MD Rajender Singh Kataria said.

The new initiative will be taken up in 16 depots in the State on a pilot basis.
Meanwhile, the State transport corporation is also testing out a 100% biodiesel bus, the first of its kind in the State.

“We haven’t tried out a 100% biodiesel bus. Currently one bus is undergoing trials with 100% biodiesel. The result so far has been good. But we have to try out various combinations - long distance inter-city routes and short distance travel too. The bus has to run on different road conditions, temperatures and topography. We want to ensure that 100% biodiesel works under all conditions,” Kataria said.

Passenger feedback

Passenger feedback will be sought on vibrations of the bus, if any, engine noise, overall noise levels within the bus, the bus handling and whether any change can be felt. If the feedback is positive, then scientific data will be combined with the popular feedback to undertake necessary changs. Overall, if the data indicates that any change is required, a retro-fitting of equipment will be taken up by KSRTC, the KSRTC MD added.

The Scania buses from Sweden will be run on bio-diesel. An agreement has been signed with the Swedish automotive major that the company will carry out any retro-fitting if necessary and this would involve fitting a few tools to the existing bus apparatus.

In most cases, a complete overhaul of engine is ruled out. Most of the buses in Europe and USA run on 100% biodiesel and, so far, no major problem or equipment hiccup has been cited. Scania runs its buses all over the world and officials say no adverse report on the engine or malfunction has been reported.