Cow Poo-powered Bus Sets Land Speed Record

Cow-poo-powered-bus-sets-land-speed-record

The same bus model that typically transports residents of Reading, England, around the city recently set a land speed record. The bus topped out at 76.785 mph as it rounded the track at Millbrook Proving Ground in Bedfordshire. UPI has more:

The kicker is — the bus is powered by cow poo or, more accurately, bovine manure-derived biomethane. In honor of its fecal fuel source, the bus is painted in black and white spots (like a cow). Bus Hound was built by Reading Buses, a transportation company in Southern England. The company’s fleet features vehicles that normally don’t break 56 mph.

“The code name for the bus itself is Bus Hound,” the company explains on its website, “which is a homage to the Bloodhound SSC team who are attempting to go slightly faster than us in breaking the actual land speed record — at 1000 mph.” Those who were at the track when the record was set were struck by the sights and sounds.

“It was an impressive sight as it swept by on the track,” John Bickerton, chief engineer for Reading Buses, told the BBC. “It sounded like a Vulcan bomber — the aerodynamics aren’t designed for going 80 mph.” The record-setting feat was part of an attempt to shine a positive light on bus transportation and the use of methane fuels.