How can ventilation be improved on public transportation buses? Insights from CO2 measurements

Measurements of CO2 and counting of occupants were carried out in 37 public bus trips during commuting rush hours in Barcelona (NE Spain) with the aim of evaluating parameters governing ventilation inside the vehicles and proposing actions to improve it. The results show that CO2 concentrations (1039 and 934 +/- 386 ppm, as average and median, during rush hours but with average reduced occupancy due to the fair to be infected by SARS-CoV-2 during the measurement period, and measured in the middle of the busses) are in the lower range of values recorded in the literature for public buses, however an improvement in ventilation is required in a significant proportion of the journeys. Thus, we found better ventilation in the older Euro 3+ (retrofitted with filter traps and selective catalytic reduction) and Euro 5 buses (average 918 +/- 257 ppm) than in the hermetically closed new Euro 6 ones (1111 +/- 432 ppm). The opening of the windows in the older buses yielded higher ventilation rates (778 +/- 432 ppm). The opening of all doors at all stops increases the ventilation by causing a fall in concentrations of 200-350 ppm below inter-stop concentrations, with this effect typically lasting 40-50 s in the hermetically closed new Euro 6 hybrid buses. Based on these results a number of recommendations are offered in order to improve ventilation, including measurement of CO2 and occupancy, and installation of ventilation fans on the top of the hermetically closed new buses, introducing outdoor air when a given concentration threshold is exceeded. In these cases, a CO2 sensor installed in the outdoor air intake is also recommended to take into account external CO2 contributions.

Automated summary

Measurements of CO2 and passenger counts on public buses in Barcelona revealed the need for improved ventilation in a significant proportion of journeys, with older buses showing better ventilation than newer hermetically sealed ones. Recommendations include installing ventilation fans on new buses and introducing outdoor air when CO2 concentrations exceed a certain threshold.