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CUTE buses: a new direction for public transport
It seems like a normal bus, except that it moves almost silently, and it does not give off any exhaust fumes. Instead, a small cloud of white steam emerges from the roof. But this is no ordinary vehicle. It is part of an experiment that could revolutionise public transport in our cities, providing sustainable, non-polluting transport from renewable energy resources
A Urban transport is a major problem in the countries of the European Union, where over 75% of the population lives in towns and cities.It is becoming increasingly difficult to reconcile individual needs and expectations of personal mobility with the quality of life of their inhabitants. Transport is already one of the chief contributors to health and environmental problems in urban regions, and increasing levels of congestion mean that in some cities the average speed of traffic at peak times is slower than it was in the days of the horse and cart. In addition,exhaust fumes are a major contributor to rising levels of CO2 emission in the atmosphere,as well as being a source of carbon monoxide and particulate matter. With experts forecasting an increase of 30% in the total number of kilometres travelled by 2030, urban transport systems have to face the challenge of meeting citizens' needs for mobility through the development of innovative and sustainable methods of transport.
B To address this problem, the European Commission has allocated 18.5m to a project entitled CUTE (Clean Urban Transport for Europe), one of the most ambitious experiments in energy and transport taking place today. The aim of the project is to investigate the role that hydrogen and fuel cells could play in providing a safe, clean and efficient means of public transport. In order to do this, the nine participating cities have each been supplied with three buses which are powered by hydrogen rather than by diesel fuel. The buses, produced by Mercedes Benz Citaro, contain tanks of compressed hydrogen in the roof,which supply fuel cells. Here, the hydrogen molecules are split and electricity is produced to power the bus, together with pure water which escapes into the atmosphere as steam. The buses only need refuelling once a day and can travel at speeds of up to 100kph.
C The nine participating cities vary widely in their local conditions and the type of operating systems they use, allowing data to be collected and comparisons to be made between the different systems. One decision the transport authorities in each city have to make is the source of the hydrogen they use for fuel. This may be produced either from renewable resources,or from fossil fuels. At present only around 40% of the energy required for the production of hydrogen on the project comes from renewable resources such as wind power. Amsterdam and Hamburg both use energy from this source to produce the hydrogen for their buses. Stockholm also uses a renewable resource, in this case hydro power, while Barcelona profits from its high number of hours of sunshine to make use of solar power. In cases such as these it may be possible to have a zero emission system, with no harmful by-products given off at any stage of the project. However, other cities such as Porto and London use natural gas or other non-renewable resources to produce the hydrogen.
D In addition to deciding on the means of production, the cities also have to decide on the location where the production of hydrogen is to take place. The on-site production of hydrogen removes the need for its transportation by truck in liquid or gas form, which is again an advantage in ecological and financial terms; this solution is used by several cities including Madrid. In London, however, in order to make the hydrogen available to other users, the authorities decided against on-site production, so the hydrogen production plant is some way from the bus depot.
E The varying georaphical and climatic conditions of each city also allow information to be collected on a range of operating conditions for the buses. In some cities, such as London, buses have to be able to perform in congested traffic, while in Madrid and Porto in summer they have to be able to contend with the hot climate in addition to this. Bus transport in Porto also has to cope with extreme geographical conditions since the city is built on a steep hillside, and the same is true of Luxembourg and Barcelona. In Stuttgart, on the other hand, which has a widespread population, the buses' ability to travel long distances is tested.
F The overall remit of the project therefore involved comparison of performance and costs involved in three main areas: the production of hydrogen, the organisation of infrastructure (for example, the location of hydrogen refilling stations), and the use of the buses in varying operational conditions. There is still some way to go before hydrogen buses will be replacing ordinary public transport on a large scale-at present running costs are ten times higher, which does not make them a commercial proposition - but it is beginning to look as if the days of the diesel driven bus are numbered
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the reading passage? (True, False or Not Given)
1 Traffic may cause problems both to city buildings and to residents
2 The most efficient way to solve urban transport problems is to increase the use of public transport
3 The chemical reaction which produces power for the hydrogen bus takes place in the fuel cell
4 The nine cities in the CUTE project have zero emission systems for their hydrogen buses
The reading passage has six paragraphs labelled A - F which paragraph contains the following information.
5 a contrast between the two main methods of hydrogen production
6 a reason why hydrogen powered buses may not be widely used for some time
7 a comparison of traffic conditions in the past or present
8 a justification for the transportation of hydrogen by road to refuel London buses
It seems like a normal bus, except that it moves almost silently, and it does not give off any exhaust fumes. Instead, a small cloud of white steam emerges from the roof. But this is no ordinary vehicle. It is part of an experiment that could revolutionise public transport in our cities, providing sustainable, non-polluting transport from renewable energy resources
A Urban transport is a major problem in the countries of the European Union, where over 75% of the population lives in towns and cities.It is becoming increasingly difficult to reconcile individual needs and expectations of personal mobility with the quality of life of their inhabitants. Transport is already one of the chief contributors to health and environmental problems in urban regions, and increasing levels of congestion mean that in some cities the average speed of traffic at peak times is slower than it was in the days of the horse and cart. In addition,exhaust fumes are a major contributor to rising levels of CO2 emission in the atmosphere,as well as being a source of carbon monoxide and particulate matter. With experts forecasting an increase of 30% in the total number of kilometres travelled by 2030, urban transport systems have to face the challenge of meeting citizens' needs for mobility through the development of innovative and sustainable methods of transport.
B To address this problem, the European Commission has allocated 18.5m to a project entitled CUTE (Clean Urban Transport for Europe), one of the most ambitious experiments in energy and transport taking place today. The aim of the project is to investigate the role that hydrogen and fuel cells could play in providing a safe, clean and efficient means of public transport. In order to do this, the nine participating cities have each been supplied with three buses which are powered by hydrogen rather than by diesel fuel. The buses, produced by Mercedes Benz Citaro, contain tanks of compressed hydrogen in the roof,which supply fuel cells. Here, the hydrogen molecules are split and electricity is produced to power the bus, together with pure water which escapes into the atmosphere as steam. The buses only need refuelling once a day and can travel at speeds of up to 100kph.
C The nine participating cities vary widely in their local conditions and the type of operating systems they use, allowing data to be collected and comparisons to be made between the different systems. One decision the transport authorities in each city have to make is the source of the hydrogen they use for fuel. This may be produced either from renewable resources,or from fossil fuels. At present only around 40% of the energy required for the production of hydrogen on the project comes from renewable resources such as wind power. Amsterdam and Hamburg both use energy from this source to produce the hydrogen for their buses. Stockholm also uses a renewable resource, in this case hydro power, while Barcelona profits from its high number of hours of sunshine to make use of solar power. In cases such as these it may be possible to have a zero emission system, with no harmful by-products given off at any stage of the project. However, other cities such as Porto and London use natural gas or other non-renewable resources to produce the hydrogen.
D In addition to deciding on the means of production, the cities also have to decide on the location where the production of hydrogen is to take place. The on-site production of hydrogen removes the need for its transportation by truck in liquid or gas form, which is again an advantage in ecological and financial terms; this solution is used by several cities including Madrid. In London, however, in order to make the hydrogen available to other users, the authorities decided against on-site production, so the hydrogen production plant is some way from the bus depot.
E The varying georaphical and climatic conditions of each city also allow information to be collected on a range of operating conditions for the buses. In some cities, such as London, buses have to be able to perform in congested traffic, while in Madrid and Porto in summer they have to be able to contend with the hot climate in addition to this. Bus transport in Porto also has to cope with extreme geographical conditions since the city is built on a steep hillside, and the same is true of Luxembourg and Barcelona. In Stuttgart, on the other hand, which has a widespread population, the buses' ability to travel long distances is tested.
F The overall remit of the project therefore involved comparison of performance and costs involved in three main areas: the production of hydrogen, the organisation of infrastructure (for example, the location of hydrogen refilling stations), and the use of the buses in varying operational conditions. There is still some way to go before hydrogen buses will be replacing ordinary public transport on a large scale-at present running costs are ten times higher, which does not make them a commercial proposition - but it is beginning to look as if the days of the diesel driven bus are numbered
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the reading passage? (True, False or Not Given)
1 Traffic may cause problems both to city buildings and to residents
2 The most efficient way to solve urban transport problems is to increase the use of public transport
3 The chemical reaction which produces power for the hydrogen bus takes place in the fuel cell
4 The nine cities in the CUTE project have zero emission systems for their hydrogen buses
The reading passage has six paragraphs labelled A - F which paragraph contains the following information.
5 a contrast between the two main methods of hydrogen production
6 a reason why hydrogen powered buses may not be widely used for some time
7 a comparison of traffic conditions in the past or present
8 a justification for the transportation of hydrogen by road to refuel London buses
