Colombia: Swedish Ambassador said Cartagena’s buses can run on biogas
The CNG buses of the Integrated System of Massive Transport of Cartagena (SITM or Transcaribe) can operate with biogas. This was revealed by the delegation of representatives of the government of Sweden, led by the Ambassador of that country in Colombia Tommy Stromberg, who visited the facilities of Transcaribe, in Patio Portal. The manager of Transcaribe, Humberto Ripoll, taught the Ambassador and his team how the system operates and gave a lecture about the beginning and prospects of the future. NGVs of the different routes of the SITM in Cartagena are manufactured by the Swedish firm Scania and it was confirmed that, in addition to natural gas, they are adapted to run on biogas. With this, Transcaribe will become the only transportation system in the country to use this renewable fuel, which comes from the use of garbage and which is a viable alternative in the event that natural gas runs out. “The technology of these buses has the capacity to use both natural gas and biogas, and we are using it in Sweden. Along with several cities in Colombia, we are also looking how waste can be used to generate biofuel and, of course, garbage is not going to finish,” Stromberg said. Moreover, Ripoll said that it is valuable news to confirm that the system’s buses can move with biogas in the future. He also confirmed that, upon 100% completion of its execution, Transcaribe will end up adding between 100 and 200 more buses than the fleet expected. More than ten years ago, when the project began, it was established that 658 buses were required in total. However, this figure should increase due to the growth of the Cartagena population and, especially, to the increase in the projection of users.