Just in time for Easter, the ACTV announces the arrival of ten new eco-sustainable vaporetti (water buses). As you can see in the photo, they don’t look much different than the models they’ll be replacing; in fact, they’ll carry the same number of passengers.
The improvements, according to the Ufficio Stampa (Venice press office) are on the inside. They promise added comfort in the form of heating and air-conditioning, and the number of wheelchair spaces has been increased from two to four.
The most welcome news, though, is their eco-friendliness: they implement a new generation of engines that reduce harmful emissions by 30%. The engines are also quieter; the boats are designed to make fewer waves. And according to the announcement, these new vaps cost less to produce than the last generation, always a positive note.
Little by little, the new shiny vaporetti will enter service for Lines 1 and 2 that travel up and down the Grand and Giudecca canals; the first immediately, three in May, three more in September, and the last three in November.
An eco-friendly, air-conditioned vaporetto. Pensa. (Think of that.)
Nan, my dream was that we would have gotten solar/electric vaporettos. Just looking at the roofs of the boats go by everyday always makes me think they would be perfect for a large solar panel. Then they would glide like gondolas…
But quieter boats that make less waves are still a welcome improvement!
I am still waiting for more hybrid boats that use electricity on the Grand Canal, and gas when they get out of the historic center.
Cat
Makes perfect sense to me. Maybe next generation? (pian pianin, I suppose.)
The japanese, more precisely the Mitsubishi company’s Yamato project, had experimented with magneto-hydrodynamic boat propulsion, but abandoned it because it was not faster than traditional ship-screws.
However moving-part-less MHD method creates very minimal waves, because the propulsive efforts is distributed on the whole ship’s hull, rather than around a single screw.
It should be ideal for venetian vaporetto propulsion, where military or bullet train-like speeds are not necessary. It should do no damage to canal walls and building foundations.
I guess the price would be high, because it consumes a lot of electicity, which need to be generated on-board the boat with diesel or turbine AC generators, unless the whole Canal Grande can be equipped with unsightly dual overhead electric wires.