Focus area: Mitigation
Website: www.uitp.org
Location: Karnataka State, India
Established: January 2012 Karanataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) is a public road transport system in India with a fleet of 7,851 buses, which consume 199 million liters of high speed diesel a year. This activity reduces carbon emissions from these buses, while being more economically viable by using ethanol as a fuel. Ethanol stands out as an alternative as it is cheaper than fossil fuels, is renewable, and emits less pollutant gases upon combustion.

The activity is a relatively new concept in the Indian transport sector. A comprehensive evaluation of the use of the ethanol blended fuel on the KSRTC bus fleet has been conducted, as well as evaluating the economic benefits of fuel switch. The benefits of the blend have been found to be enhanced lubricity, improved corrosion resistance, increased engine life and improved fuel economy.

Mitigation / Adaptation

A comprehensive evaluation of the use of ethanol-blended fuel on the bus fleet was conducted. The preliminary approach was aimed at estimating the reduction in air pollution emissions and its impact on the air quality of the environment. The main economic benefits of blended fuel was also analyzed. The focus was mainly on the reduction of particulant matter and CO2 emissions. This information is still to be confirmed.

Social and environmental benefits

In addition to the reduction in air pollution coming from the switch to ethanol-diesel, the activity will also provide other social benefits, including: water conservation which includes work on a water recycling plant (which reuses water used to wash the buses), rain water harvesting (which gathers rain water at various KSRTC units) and water softeners (where water quality at all depots is tested and based on results is softened. This is part of a KSRTC funded scheme to provide pure drinking water for 27 rural bus stations in the system.  It shows how a transport organization can contribute to the green activities of its community.

Potential for scaling-up and replication

The potential long-term impact for this activity is that it will reduce emission annual by the following amounts: particulant matter will decrease by 22,729 metric tonnes, nitrogen oxide,

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