Reading Buses 'cow poo bus' sets speed record
A bus powered by cow manure has set a land speed record for a regular bus by driving at 77mph.
Reading Buses' "Bus Hound" (image here from the company), was recorded doing a lap speed of 76.785mph (123.57km/h) at Bedford's Millbrook Proving Ground.
It
runs on biomethane compressed natural gas and is painted black and
white like a Friesian cow. It normally carries passengers around
Reading.
The UK Timing Association confirmed the new record.
Trevor Duckworth, the association's chief timekeeper, said this was the first time a bus had been on Millbrook Proving Ground and described it as "quite a sight".
The bus is normally speed limited to 56mph (90km/h).
Martijn
Gilbert, chief executive of Reading Buses, said it would not be
recognised as a Guinness World Record unless it reached speeds above
150mph (241km/h).
Chief
engineer John Bickerton said the company wanted the "world's first
service bus speed record" to bring to light the viability, power and
credibility of buses fuelled by cow poo.
"We've laid down a challenge for other bus operators to best our record and we had to make it a bit hard for them.
"Most
importantly we wanted to get the image of bus transport away from being
dirty, smelly, and slow. We're modern, fast, and at the cutting edge of
innovation.
"It was an impressive sight as it swept by on the
track. It sounded like a Vulcan bomber - the aerodynamics aren't
designed for going 80mph."
Its fuel is made from animal waste
which is broken down in a process called anaerobic digestion to produce
biogas, which is then liquefied, Mr Gilbert said.
It is stored in seven tanks fixed inside the roof of the bus.
