There are 21 new STCP buses running on CNG in Porto

Porto is tackling the problem of local urban pollution, by using CNG – Compressed natural gas to power the first buses running in the Invicta. This is part of the STCP policies of implementing a decarbonisation of its operations. The goal is that by October, another 60 buses that are powered by CNG will integrate its fleet, alongside five electrical vehicles, thus enabling to reach the 274 “green” buses landmark.

The new vehicles that already run the city of Porto are part of a batch of 86 purchased under the II PO SEUR (Operational Programme for Resource Use sustainability and efficiency). STCP’s main purpose is to “replace End of Life vehicles, while providing a more efficient service, economic and environmentally wise, and substantially reduce carbon emissions”, a statement reads.

The majority of the new buses will have a low-floor layout, and the electrical vehicles, also due to arrive in Porto next October, will feature 350 kilometres battery charge. Just early this year, STCP announced the procurement of 5.000 MWh of renewable energy, with Guaranties of Origin to the Spanish Acciona for fuelling its fleet.

This renovation operation started in 2018 and should be concluded by the end of the year; thus STCP estimates that its fleet will have 420 buses running, of which 79% on compressed natural gas, 5% electric and 16% on diesel.

On the occasion of the I PO SEUR, STCP acquired 188 eco-friendly vehicles, and installed electric vehicles chargers and new stations for gas supplies in the city. “The new gas supply station of Estação de Recolha da Via Norte, which was recently inaugurated, is the largest L-CNG in Europe, capacity wise”, the transport company also states.

In 2020, the company that is owned and managed by the Municipalities of Porto, Gondomar, Maia, Matosinhos, Valongo and Vila Nova de Gaia, already managed to “substantially reduce CO2 emissions from its fleet”, a reduction of two thousand tons compared to the same period last year.