Proterra Electric Bus

[JRP3]

Wonder how much regen they're getting, though. I keep hearing the pneumatic brakes.

Even a light tap on the air brakes will make that noise.

 

[Doug_G]

Electric Bus

A modest project to build and trial an electric bus.

Manitoba puts up cash for all-electric bus - Technology Science - CBC News

 

[TEG]

Austin Beutner: With electric vehicles for mass transit, LA can step into the forefront - LA Daily News

 

[dpeilow]

BYD to supply city of Frankfurt with three electric eBUS-12s Autoblog Green

 

[ljbad4life]

I think this electric bus company stands a better shot. http://www.proterra.com/

The bus has already been shown of and driven/ put into a limited service run.

 

[bint2k]

5 minute electric bus charge

Toshiba electric buses will charge in just five minutes | The Verge

can't go more then 12km before having to be topped up for the 5min quick charge...

 

[DarkStar]

Yep, not quite enough range... Here in Portland, our buses travel an average of 12 miles (19 km) on a single route.

 

[daniel]

I think trolly cars make more sense.

 

[doug]

Merged a few stub threads on this same topic.

 

[Bearman]

I think trolly cars make more sense.

I used to live in a city with trolly cars and while having some benefits they are always complemented by buses because they only go where there are tracks and that's often a small percentage of the area serviced because of cost. That caused another problem they had to have a bus lane and a trolley lane so it took up a lot of space and because the trolley cant pass another one they clogged the system every time there was a problem and that's why some have suggested buses with the same propulsion system but with a small battery to be able to drive off the grid if needed and no rails needed. There are of course always solutions to problems like this if there is a will and some capital, personally i like some sort of skytrain(?) because it runs above and parallel to anything else.

 

[JRP3]

Toshiba has announced plans to develop electric buses that can perform a charge in just 5 minutes, which the company says is roughly a quarter of the time that similar lithium-ion cells take. There's a catch, though: to achieve these speedy recharges, the buses cannot drop below 50 percent charge

So it's really not a quarter of the time that similar cells take. And since these are probably Toshiba Scib cells, similar Altairnanos can already recharge in about 5 minutes, and from deeper than 50% DOD.

 

[JRP3]

I think trolly cars make more sense.

:biggrin:

 

[doug]

I assumed daniel was referring to/meant to say trolleybusses, like we have in San Francisco.

Trolleybus! - a gallery on Flickr

Of course the overhead wires can be a bit of an eyesore.

http://viewoftheblue.com/photography/sf1097.html

 

[JRP3]

Of course the overhead wires can be a bit of an eyesore.

To say the least. maybe inductive power delivery would be better.

 

[jerry33]

With inductive power you won't get to watch the driver trying to put the antennas back on the wires (this is more fun when it's dark out and the driver can't see the wires clearly).

 

[stopcrazypp]

Of course the overhead wires can be a bit of an eyesore.

They are more noticeable in pictures (esp. in the intersections where there are different lines that have to go in different directions). In real life, you get used to them and they become essentially invisible (basically filtered out of the vision).

However, battery powered buses can replace the current diesel buses (which are used for the faster lines and in areas where it is impractical to run wires).

 

[bint2k]

I used to live in a city with trolly cars and while having some benefits they are always complemented by buses because they only go where there are tracks and that's often a small percentage of the area serviced because of cost. That caused another problem they had to have a bus lane and a trolley lane so it took up a lot of space and because the trolley cant pass another one they clogged the system every time there was a problem and that's why some have suggested buses with the same propulsion system but with a small battery to be able to drive off the grid if needed and no rails needed. There are of course always solutions to problems like this if there is a will and some capital, personally i like some sort of skytrain(?) because it runs above and parallel to anything else.

monorail, monorail, monnooooorail, doh

 

[Bearman]

monorail, monorail, monnooooorail, doh

Thank you, got it

 

[clea]

Another BYD sale to a Canadian city ...

BYD will supply up to 10 all-electric buses to Windsor, Ontario

 

[Norbert]

Another BYD sale to a Canadian city ...

BYD will supply up to 10 all-electric buses to Windsor, Ontario

BYD says its eBUS-12 can go as far as 186 miles on a single charge and can be recharged in as little as 30 minutes with BYD's own 600-kilowatt rapid charging system.

Impressive if true.