RATP, the company that manages mass transit in one of Europe's biggest cities, Paris, announced that it plans to become an oil-free company by 2025. According to the group's Energy policy announcement, RATP will reduce pollution by five percent in 2010 and by 10 percent in 2020. It's quite an important figure, because Paris mass transit system uses the same energy as a town with 160,000 inhabitants.In order to accomplish the oil-free goal, RATP is looking at a variety of alternatives. It already runs a third of its fleet on B30 and has plans to test buses running with ethanol and B100, as well as using Stop/Start systems to reduce fuel consumption when buses are not running.
Rail vehicles will also get upgraded. All trains purchased after 1989 have a system of electronic motor management which distributes energy better and also captures braking energy. This system is currently working in 53 percent of the métros (subways) running, 65 percent for the RER (commuter trains) and 100 percent in tramway systems.
[Source: RATP (thanks to my buddy Dominique for the tip]
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