In future, grass cuttings from City Parks, waste from the Fresh Produce Market and fuel from specially grown bio crops, will propel more than 180 Metro buses, Executive Mayor Parks Tau said.
Speaking during his State of the City Address in Soweto, Tau said the city council was expanding its dual-fuel fleet with 150 new buses and would be involved in the cultivation of the bio crops used to produce the fuel.
In the next financial year, an additional 30 buses will be converted to run on a mixture of compressed natural gas and diesel.
The city council has opted to use biogas in a bid to reduce carbon emissions and the cost of fuel. Two buses had already been converted to dual-fuel powered versions earlier this year.
The dual-fuel buses were significantly cleaner than the diesel versions, emitting 90 percent less carbon emissions, he said.
The new fleet of Metro buses, which is estimated to cost nearly R500 million, will be locally manufactured which was an investment in local business and would create jobs, he added.
Further, he said the development of a biogas value chain would also result in increased entrepreneurial activity, and jobs in the agricultural and waste sectors.
These efforts will eventually extend to other public and private transport.
“This will enable residents to use locally produced energy sources to power their vehicles, enabling them to pay less for fuel,” said Tau.
