Scania has previously delivered ethanol- and biogas-fuelled vehicles to Keolis, and the new buses will be equipped with engines for the renewable fuels ethanol and rapeseed methyl ester (RME). Compared to using a conventional diesel engine, Keolis reduces carbon-dioxide emissions by 70% by using ethanol; for RME, the corresponding figure is 64%.

Deliveries of the buses will take place from April until July, and the buses will start operating between June and August.

Keolis Sverige’s vision is to use locally suited, sustainable transport to double transit ridership in Swedish cities. By the second half of 2011 Keolis’ vehicle fleet in Sweden will consist of approximately 2,000 buses, of which more than 60% will be running on renewable fuels.

Scania has more than 20 years of experience with ethanol buses, having delivered a total of about 800 ethanol buses. More than 700 of them have gone to Swedish cities, but the company has also delivered ethanol buses for commercial service to countries such as Great Britain, Spain, Italy, Belgium and Norway.

The world’s largest fleet of ethanol buses operates in the greater Stockholm area, where Stockholm County Council has set the goal that at least 50% of all passenger traffic will employ renewable fuels by 2012.