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Paris Will Get 600 Hybrid Buses in Strugle with Air Pollution

As the entire world is facing several environmental problems, crowded cities in Western Europe are also fighting with pollution. After deciding to reduce the number of cars allowed to run in Paris this March, authorities in the City of Lights have recently announced that 600 new hybrid busses will be bought in order to reduce emissions.
Paris Will Get 600 Hybrid Buses in Strugle with Air Pollution 1 photo
Photo: BAE Systems
This March, authorities in Paris took a quite strange decision that brought up some controversy among its citizens. The French government decided to reduce traffic by allowing only motorists with odd-numbered plates to drive in one day, and allow those with even-numbered plates to travel the day after. Ministers acted after air pollution exceeded safe levels for five days running in Paris and surrounding areas.

The only exceptions were taxis, commercial electric and hybrid vehicles and cars carrying three or more passengers. Even though plenty of people decided to take a chance and drove their cars anyway and risked the EUR 22 fine it seemed Parisians were playing the game. And the numbers have showed the decision actually worked, as the environment ministry said lower traffic levels during throughout the first day had significantly improved the smog.

Anyway, this is probably why French authorities now decided to continue their fight against pollution and purchase hybrid buses. According to BAE Systems, up to 600 of the city’s new buses will be hybrid, powered by HybriDrive Series system, a stop/start technology developed by the British company. It allows hybrid buses to eliminate emission when stationary, save fuel and diminish noise and odors.

Stop/start, as referred to in the United States, and “arrive and go” in the United Kingdom, is an innovative technology that allegedly represents a major evolution - the transformation of hybrid bus to full electric.

These transit buses for the Parsi public transport operator, Regie Autonome des Transports Parisiens, are made possible through our partnership with CNH Industrial. The company, which owns the Iveco Bus and Heuliez Bus brands, recently received multiple orders for transit buses, including the 600 power by our HybriDrive technology,” the company explains in their press release.
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