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Thursday, July 25, 2013
TRIMET (mcfaralane) LOOKING AT ELETRIC BUS
Doubtful we will ever see any of these in PDX because the people that run everything are addicted to light rail projects and all the money that gets spread around to the cronies when installing these boondoggles.
"Wireless" is all hype. Buses run routes; the batteries add a lot of weight to the bus, which in turn means more energy needed to move, which in turn means shorter range. Stringing up wires means the buses can be much lighter, thus less wear and tear on the road surface. Plus it creates "permanence" which is one of those buzzwords the MAX fanboys used to explain how people like to locate around "permanent" light rail lines.
Los Angeles is ordering a bunch of them. I like that they're stipulating that they have to be assembled locally. BYD a Chinese manufacturer. At least it provides assembly jobs to local workers. I guess similar to what Seattle did with the Italian Bredas where their final assembly was in Issaquah just outside Seattle.
It seems we have enough stuff coming from China. I wish Proterra of South Carolina could come up with a better charging system to their buses as I really believe that a public transit agency should be ordering buses from a U.S. based company.
Erik makes a good point on the weight of these electric buses. Again, just like the Bredas in Seattle when they were dual-mode, I remember WSDOT being very concerned about how much damage they'd do to the roadways because their axle weights were so much over the limits. However, I believe that the weight of batteries will continue to be reduced over the years and I have to believe that an all electric wireless transit bus is the future.
They are not wireless, but they are a proven technology.
Now we will be able to combine all the luxuries of the new buses with trolley buses, as our new buses will be low floor and have A/C. They also will be more energy efficient by returning electricity to the system thru regenerative braking (similar to how hybrid recharge the batteries on board). Finally, they will be equipped with a small battery to allow us to go off wire for short distances to reroute around obstacles. This technology is already in use in Vancouver BC and Philadelphia.
And to answer Jason, I enjoy the trolly buses, they are quiet, smooth, and yes, you can race a car to the top and not be left in the dust. They are kinda fun to drive! The neighborhoods love them too. Trolley routes in Seattle carry about 20% of our system ridership.
6 comments:
We have electric buses, i drive them.....oh and were getting more than hundred brand spanking new ones late next year.....
But your's aren't wireless. (But do you prefer the trolley buses?)
"Wireless" is all hype. Buses run routes; the batteries add a lot of weight to the bus, which in turn means more energy needed to move, which in turn means shorter range. Stringing up wires means the buses can be much lighter, thus less wear and tear on the road surface. Plus it creates "permanence" which is one of those buzzwords the MAX fanboys used to explain how people like to locate around "permanent" light rail lines.
Los Angeles is ordering a bunch of them. I like that they're stipulating that they have to be assembled locally. BYD a Chinese manufacturer. At least it provides assembly jobs to local workers. I guess similar to what Seattle did with the Italian Bredas where their final assembly was in Issaquah just outside Seattle.
It seems we have enough stuff coming from China. I wish Proterra of South Carolina could come up with a better charging system to their buses as I really believe that a public transit agency should be ordering buses from a U.S. based company.
Erik makes a good point on the weight of these electric buses. Again, just like the Bredas in Seattle when they were dual-mode, I remember WSDOT being very concerned about how much damage they'd do to the roadways because their axle weights were so much over the limits. However, I believe that the weight of batteries will continue to be reduced over the years and I have to believe that an all electric wireless transit bus is the future.
They are not wireless, but they are a proven technology.
Now we will be able to combine all the luxuries of the new buses with trolley buses, as our new buses will be low floor and have A/C. They also will be more energy efficient by returning electricity to the system thru regenerative braking (similar to how hybrid recharge the batteries on board). Finally, they will be equipped with a small battery to allow us to go off wire for short distances to reroute around obstacles. This technology is already in use in Vancouver BC and Philadelphia.
And to answer Jason, I enjoy the trolly buses, they are quiet, smooth, and yes, you can race a car to the top and not be left in the dust. They are kinda fun to drive! The neighborhoods love them too. Trolley routes in Seattle carry about 20% of our system ridership.
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