Chinese vehicle becomes Santiago's first natural gas bus

SANTIAGO - A vehicle from the Chinese brand King Long will become the first natural gas bus to join capital Santiago's public transport system, the Chilean Ministry of Transportation and Communications said Saturday.

The Chinese bus will join Santiago's Metropolitan Mobility Network that integrates subway, rental bikes and suburban trains, and begin circulating in August, the ministry said.

It will serve the Route 104 operated by bus company STP Santiago and connect the communes in eastern Santiago.

The bus has a capacity of 101 passengers, including 30 seated and 71 standing, which is equipped with universal accessibility, air conditioning, USB ports and security cameras.

Santiago has become "a laboratory for various technologies," the use of this bus will show if electricity is an efficient alternative fuel for the public transport, Chilean Minister of Transportation and Communications Gloria Hutt told journalists.

STP's general manager Luis Barahona said that the incorporation of this bus "once again put us at the forefront of the use of eco-friendly technologies."

Compared to the diesel bus, natural-gas buses can reduce the emission of particles by 80 percent and nitrogen oxide by 90 percent, according to the Chilean government.