Murrays Coaches, one of Australia’s best loved operators, has six Scania vehicles in operation in Queensland with five new vehicles on order.

Two of the six, fitted with IRIZAR i6 bodies are switching over to run on B100 biodiesel provided by ECOTECH Biodiesel based in Queensland with fuel transported by Refuelling Solutions.

ECOTECH Biodiesel, Just Biodiesel and Refuelling Solutions have partnered with Scania to provide a turn-key solution for bus and coach operators around Australia looking to vastly lower their emissions. That the fuel is produced in Australia from local sources, reducing our exposure to imported fuels and importantly, keeping investment local, is a further advantage.

Justin Cannon, Murrays Coaches' National Fleet Manager says the decision to switch to biofuels and to order five new Scania-powered vehicles that will be run on B100 was Taking the fast route to cleaner emissions driven by the company’s desire to cut tailpipe emissions now.

“Our customers are asking us how to reduce their carbon footprint, and we have answers,” says Scania Australia’s Sustainability Solutions Manager, Anthony King.

“Today there is additional impetus from our customers and our customers’ customers asking the same questions. Fortunately, we have been prepared for this and have established partnerships with relevant stakeholders so that we can deliver a readymade, here-and-now solution.

“All Scania bus engines that we have sold in recent times can run on B100 biodiesel. It just needs to be pumped into the vehicle’s tanks. The fuel must comply with the EN 14214 standard, of course. And if they need to refuel away from the depot, regular diesel can be used,” Anthony says.

“Murrays’ two IRIZAR i6 bodies on Scania 360 hp powertrains will be the first to use biofuel provided by ECOTECH Biodiesel and supplied by Refuelling Solutions as part of our carbon emissions reduction programme for customers in Australia, and we are delighted that they will take delivery of a further five new vehicles that will also run on this fuel,” Anthony says.

“Murrays has several customers who are multinationals and who are tasked with reducing carbon emissions” Justin says. 

“We had already been studying options and the Scania biofuel solution made the most sense because the buses need no adaptation to run on B100, as they are adapted at the factory.

“For our operating environment, biofuels make the most sense today,” Justin says. “Our trials showed that the IRIZAR i6s running on B100 delivered no noticeable difference in power or fuel efficiency, but we have the benefit of the significant emissions reduction.”

Murrays has ordered five new Scania powered buses with bodies assembled by BCI, all of which will run on B100 and will be working on a contract to transport workers to and from the Surat Basin.

“We have had the flexibility with Scania and BCI to select the components we know work well in our operating environment to build buses that we are confident will stand up to Australia’s harsh operating conditions,” Justin says.

“Corporately we are keen to reduce our CO₂ emissions, so the success of this B100 programme could have implications for future fleet purchases,” Justin says.

“We currently operate six Scania-powered vehicles in our fleet in Queensland and will add the new five BCI bodied vehicles. They’ll be running from Brisbane to Toowoomba as well as on to Chinchilla, and also out to St George and Cunnamulla. We expect that they will cover about 20,000 km per month running out there, so they will be racking up km quickly for buses,” Justin says.

“We’re delighted that Murrays has partnered with Refuelling Solutions” says Refuelling Solutions Future Fuels Manager Simon Roycroft. “We’re already working on future investment plans to extend emission reductions” he says.

“It is very exciting to be working with leading organisations that are at the forefront of this once in a lifetime energy transition, delivering customer focused renewable low carbon liquid fuel solutions.”

“We have very high confidence in the B100 biofuel,” Anthony King says. “European operators have been running their Scania buses and coaches on biofuels for many years with excellent results and with up to 80% CO₂ emissions reduction well-to-wheel.

Using B100 biodiesel gives you the unmatched Scania reliability you need today, with significantly lowered climate impact.” he says.