Dublin Bus today unveiled the first of its buses to be fueled by biodiesel.
The company will run five of its city tour vehicles on 5 per cent plant oil and 95 per cent conventional diesel.
The pilot scheme came about following a review by the bus firm into the viability of using biofuels and biodiesel given the increase in fuel costs. The Dublin Bus fleet uses nearly 30 million litres of fuel annually.
The use of hybrid vehicles and pure plant oil was considered, but biodiesel was judged to be the preferred option. It is formed when vegetable oil is modified using a process known as esterification. It can then be mixed with conventional diesel.
Minister for Transport Martin Cullen today said: "Measures such as this are welcome, and I would hope that similar initiatives would be taken on board by other public transport companies and extended to all Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann fleets".
The mix for the Dublin Bus trial is limited by 5 per cent because exceeding this would make warranties on its Volvo and Cummins vehicles null and void.
Greyhound Recycling and Recovery will supplying the biodiesel.
