Buses World News
In brief: Worldwide montly news & informations about Buses, Busmakers, Passengers' and the Transport Industry
BYD ELECTRIC BUSMAKER * China: Entering american market
* Shenzhen - A Chinese automaker is taking a back road into the American market on a battery-powered bus
-- The Chinese automaker is taking a back road into the American market on a battery-powered bus... Detouring around the cost and risk of consumer sales, BYD Co. has quietly built a U.S. business supplying rechargeable buses to environmentally-minded transit agencies. Its factory north of Los Angeles, opened in 2013, is on track to deliver 300 this year... The company has dipped its toe into the U.S. auto market by launching test fleets of plug-in electric taxis in Chicago and New York City... BYD's batteries are heavier than its competitors' but the company says their iron phosphate chemical mix is safer than those made of lithium and cobalt that sometimes can catch fire if punctured... Abroad, BYD faces more hurdles in countries that don't promote electric vehicles as aggressively as China does... In its home city of Shenzhen, the local government has bought more than 4,000 buses and the government of surrounding Guangdong province ordered 6,432 this week. The state-owned utility installs charging stations — something BYD cannot take for granted in other markets...
(Photo - An electric bus produced by China's BYD Co., is parked at the announcement of the opening of an electric bus manufacturing plant) -- Shenzhen, China - AP/The San Francisco Chronicle — April 22, 2016Labels: electric busmakers news
TESLA MOTORS' * USA: ELECTRIC BUSES "Proterra" brand
* California - Burlingame-based electric bus company looks to transform transit
--- A recent addition to Burlingame’s business landscape is attempting to do for commuter buses what Tesla Motors has done for passenger cars... Backed by some of the same investors who funded Tesla, and employing former Tesla personnel as well, Proterra, Inc. builds futuristic-looking, battery-powered electric buses that offer enough driving range to rival the fossil fuel-powered vehicles they’re designed to replace... The bus bodies are made from advanced composite materials, with their lower and upper halves each coming out of molds and being fused together like a clamshell... And going full-electric eliminates about 2,000 pounds of conventional bus drivetrain, adding that the engine and gearbox in a Proterra bus typically weigh less than 300 pounds... The combination of large batteries and low curb weights allow the buses to run longer. The extended range models are charged overnight, and store enough energy to run all day without recharging... Meanwhile, the fast-charging models make use of overhead chargers installed at bus stops along their routes. During the few minutes it takes customers to board or exit a coach, the charger aligns itself with the vehicle’s charging port, providing enough energy to keep the bus running for two or three hours... In February, the San Francisco Examiner reported that Muni’s new electric buses appear to struggle up San Francisco’s hills, though transit officials said they are satisfied with the new buses’ performance...
(Photo courtesy Proterra Inc. - Proterra, a new electric bus company, could change the landscape of public transportation in the Peninsula) -- San Francisco, CAL, USA - San Francisco Examiner, by Brendan P. Bartholomew - April 17, 2016Labels: electric buses services, electric busmakers news
ELECTRIC BUSES * Australia: Arrives new busmaker
* Victoria - Australian-made electric bus to roll out in July this year
-- Allen Saylav has taken the helm at the new Australian electric bus manufacturing organisation AVASS. He's confident that the manufacture of electric buses in Australia will be a success... Melbourne-based electric vehicle manufacturer AVASS has a newly-leased 12,500 square-metre factory at Avalon in Melbourne’s western suburbs and will manufacture electric vehicles under the AVA brand including electric buses, cars, motorcycles and trucks... Manufacturing mainly commercial vehicles, AVASS will focus on 12-metre city passenger, 12-metre coach and 9-metre passenger buses along with Small Trucks under 7000 kilograms... AVASS is confident the organisation will generate jobs and fill the hole left by the closure of manufacturing giants Holden, Toyota and Ford... Fully-supported by the Geelong Chamber of Commerce, the organisation has entered into a five-year lease at Avalon, with the capacity to hire up to 500 people...
(Photo: AVASS' buses factory) -- Melbourne, VIC, Australia - Busnews - 12 April 2016Labels: electric busmakers news
SUBSIDIES FOR ELECTRIC BUSES * China: Is considering to cutting off
* China - Incentives for electric buses said to be cut as much as 49.5%
-- China is proposing to cut the amount of subsidies for electric buses because the policy was considered overly generous, while imposing a price ceiling on passenger vehicles that qualify for incentives... Incentives for electric buses will be cut by an average of 32 percent, with funding for the largest models reduced by as much as 49.5 percent, according to the people, who asked not to be identified as the deliberations are private... Electric passenger vehicles costing more than 350,000 yuan ($53,800) won’t be eligible for government subsidies under the proposal. The plan is still being reviewed by various ministries and has to be approved by the State Council... The plan, if approved in its current form, may damp demand electric vehicle sales, which surged more than threefold last year to 331,000 units... The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology didn’t immediately respond to a faxed request for comment on the plan...
(Photo: Bus 100% electric model K9 from BYD/China) -- Beijing, China - Bloomberg News - March 29, 2016Labels: electric busmakers news, stimulus funds
NEW ALL ELECTRIC BUS * USA - MAKERS: Motiv Power Systems & Creative Bus Sales
* California - Motiv Power Systems and Creative Bus Sales partner to build a Zero-Emission All-Electric school bus
-- Continuing to demonstrate its collaborative approach to greening America's fleets, Motiv Power Systems and Creative Bus Sales, Inc announced they will partner on a new all-electric school bus. Called the Starcraft e-Quest XL, the zero-emission school bus will use the Motiv All-Electric Powertrain, a Ford F59 chassis and Starcraft body. Features of the e-Quest XL bus include passenger capacity of up to 48, a range of up to 85 miles, 50 percent charge within 2 hours, among others...
(Photo: New Zero-Emission e-Quest XL to be built on Ford F59 Chassis, using Starcraft bus body) -- FOSTER CITY, CAL, USA - PRNewswire - Jan. 20, 2016Labels: electric busmakers news
ELECTRIC BUSMAKERS NEWS * USA: BYD Coach & Bus
* California - Electric bus maker buzzing over orders
-- In a hangarlike building on the north end of Lancaster, 13 electric buses move through the assembly line at BYD Coach & Bus... Some are almost empty shells, while others near completion with wiring and windows installed. Sections of a 60-foot bus are in booths for painting. Finished vehicles get a final check before customers take delivery... All this activity at the plant must accelerate after BYD announced last month an agreement with Washington state and Oregon for up to 800 new buses. That’s in addition to 100 buses already on back order... The new orders mean the factory’s payroll of 120 will have to expand. And the company will have to reconfigure its manufacturing operation to double output...
(Photo: BYD electric buses manufactured in Lancaster, CAL) -- Lancaster, CAL, USA - The San Fernando Valley Business Journal, by MARK MADLER - October 5, 2015Labels: busmakers news USA, electric busmakers news
BUSMAKER NEWS * Sweden - Volvo tests new generation all-electric bus
* Gothenburg - Volvo’s first electric bus now on the roads of
-- Swedish bus maker Volvo has just concluded tests of its new electric bus on the streets of Gothenburg, Sweden’s second largest city. The bus was tested amid regular traffic to study it in real word conditions. Volvo says that it is fine tuning the bus before launching it on June 15, 2015 in Gothenburg itself... The bus is 10.7 metres long and can accommodate up to 86 passengers. The driver sits in the centre of the bus a la the Mclaren F1 hypercar. Volvo says that the bus is designed to offer a modern and welcoming atmosphere. The bus is fitted with sockets to charge mobile phones as well as has onboard WiFi... Three of its all-electric and seven of its hybrid buses will ply on this route. The buses are equipped with quick-charge battery packs that can be replenished using renewable electricity. The energy consumption of the bus is 80 per cent lower than that of diesel buses, says Volvo... The bus will be commercially produced 2017 onwards...
(Photo: A VOLVO BUS SAR) -- Gothenburg, Sweden - Overdrive - 13 May 2015
* India - Volvo says its buses are compliant to the new Bus Body Code in
-- The bus body code has come into effect in India from April 1, 2015. Issued by the office of Ministry of Road and Transport Highways , the Bus Body Code enlists guidelines to manufacturers of bus bodies. The new direction will ensure that buses will maintain a standard with respect to the design, passenger legroom, materials used for construction. The Bus Body code also mandates the incorporation of ABS... Volvo has announced that it welcomes the new rules that could help reduce the growing number of fatalities on our roads. The company adds that its buses already conform to the Bus Body Code and its buses come with ABS...
(Photo: Volvo Buses are fully compliant to the Bus Body Code) -- New Delhi, Delhi, India - First Post - 15 May 2015Labels: busmakers news Sweden, electric busmakers news
ELECTRIC BUSES FLEET * USA: From BYD to Long Beach, CAL
* California - Long Beach Transit again picks BYD Motors for electric bus contract
-- Long Beach Transit’s governing board voted Monday to approve an $11 million deal that includes 10 battery electric buses from BYD Motors and a wireless charging system from Wireless Advanced Vehicle Electrification Inc., a Salt Lake City company, that is intended to make it possible for electric buses to be recharged at points along the routes... BYD Motors is the U.S.A. subsidiary of a Chinese company that specializes in batteries and electric vehicles. BYD Motors main offices are in Los Angeles, and its bus assembly plant is in Lancaster... BYD has also delivered five buses to L.A. Metro, which has the option of purchasing up to 25 buses from the manufacturer... Long Beach Transit’s new deal with BYD includes a 12-year warranty and the option to buy 14 more buses for Long Beach... An additional 36 buses could be purchased by the leaders of Anaheim Transportation Network and Gardena Municipal Bus Lines, whose boards could follow evaluations of the bids submitted to Long Beach Transit, Lee said...
(Photo: A BYD bus EV/Plug-in) -- Long Beach, CAL, USA - Press-Telegram, by Andrew Edwards - 27 April 2015Labels: electric busmakers news
ELECTRIC BUSMAKERS * USA: Proterra Wins $3M California Energy Commission Grant
* California - To expand advanced manufacturing of zero-emissions transit buses to West Coast
-- The California Energy Commission today awarded a $3 million grant to Proterra, the leading provider of zero-emission battery-electric buses... The grant will fund the design, development and construction of Proterra's new state-of-the-art zero-emission, battery-electric transit bus manufacturing line in California. Proterra's expansion was prompted by the strong growth in market demand for the new Proterra Catalyst™ vehicle... The proposed facility, to be located in the San Gabriel Valley, is expected to be operational by the fourth quarter of 2015 and will create more than 70 new local jobs. During the grant term, Proterra plans to manufacture an estimated 424 buses, resulting in a reduction of 900M lbs of CO2 over the lifetime of those vehicles. Proterra was the only bus provider selected for CEC funding and today also announced that existing customer Foothill Transit in L.A. County has placed another order for additional Proterra buses to meet increased demand from its ridership base...
(Photo: Proterra electric bus) -- San Bruno, CAL, USA - PRNewswire - April 8, 2015Labels: electric busmakers news
ELECTRIC BUSMAKERS NEWS * WORLDWIDE: * Canada's New Flyer - India's Ashok Leyland - USA/China's: ByD - China's Ankai
* Texas / USA - ByD unveils world's largest battery electric vehicle
(Photo: BYD Lancaster Articulated 60-foot eBus)
Houston,TXS,USA -Busworld (Belgium) -18 Oct 2014: -- BYD Motors kicked off the 2014 American Public Transportation Association (APTA) Expo in Houston with a new product – the first electric articulated bus. Fittingly named “The Lancaster” for this occasion, after the city in California where it was designed and manufactured. The BYD Lancaster eBus 60 foot articulated battery-electric bus, can drive some 280 kilometres with a passenger load of up to 120 passengers. The bus was in development for almost two years. BYD's mission is to create safer and more environmentally-friendly battery technologies. This has resulted in the BYD Iron-Phosphate Battery, a fire-safe, completely recyclable, and incredibly long-cycle technology -- the foundation of BYD's Electric buses. These buses run entirely off battery power lasting up to 24 hours on a single charge, with single off-peak charging time of 2-4 hours. No additional generation capacity is needed to be built to charge our buses at night since the grid is only 40% utilized, according to BYD representatives...
* Manitoba / Canada - New Flyer's first 60' fuel cell hybrid bus in North America
(Photo: New Flyer's latest Xcelsior 60-foot buses will run on a battery-electric/fuel cell propulsion system)
Winnipeg,MAN,CAN -Winnipeg Free Press -27 Oct 2014: -- New Flyer Industries Inc. is developing the first North American designed and built 60-foot battery-electric/fuel cell hybrid bus that will operate in daily service. CALSTART, received the green light from the FTA for work to proceed.
The electric propulsion system being integrated into New Flyer’s Buy America-compliant Xcelsior X60 heavy-duty transit bus platform includes a combination of batteries, a fuel cell, and hydrogen storage. The electric drive bus will allow the fuel cell to operate at a relative steady-state, while the batteries will be able to both capture breaking energy and provide power for acceleration... New Flyer has built six XE40s for North American customers, and expects five of them to enter service in the coming weeks...
* China - Ankai to launch the fifth generation electric bus in Beijing
(Photo: The fifth generation bus is the first Ankai bus equipped with e-control)
Beijing,China -Busworld (Belgium) -19 Oct 2014: -- On the recently held 2014 China International New Energy Automobile and Technology Application Exhibition in the China National Convention Center in Beijing bus manufacturer Ankai presented three electric new energy buses, among them its fifth generation electric bus... The fifth generation electric bus is the first Ankai bus equipped with e-control. Ankai has further signed a contract with the Beijing Public Transportation Group for delivery of Ankai pure electric midibuses which will be operated in community transport service. The Ankai Baositong, another electric bus, will target at the company commercial vehicle market. According to the new legal regulations in China, by 2020 the percentage of new energy vehicles in the transportation industry should reach 30%...
* India - Ashok Leyland to make electric, hybrid buses in
(Picture: A Optare's Solo bus)
Alwar,India -Busworld (Belgium) -17 Oct 2014: -- Indian bus manufacturer Ashok Leyland will start manufacturing and marketing electric and hybrid buses in India from next year. The company is looking to bring a range of vehicles from its U.K. arm Optare to India. It will be launching the Solo bus from Optare in its brand name in the Bus Expo in New Delhi early next year. Then, it will look at manufacturing electric and hybrid buses in India... Optare has been selling 100 electric buses a year in the U.K. ... Vinod Dasari, Managing Director of Ashok Leyland, said, that capacity was not an issue. The company needed to invest in battery technology which required to be imported from the U.K., the U.S. or China, he pointed out... Ashok Leyland has bus manufacturing facilities at Alwar and Tiruchi in India. The electric and hybrid buses would be made from these facilities, he said...Labels: electric busmakers news
ELECTRIC BUSMAKERS NEWS * USA: Proterra's
* Oregon - Seattle deal could lead to Proterra expansion
(Photo by PATRICK COLLARD: Josh Gooden performs work on a new Proterra bus in Greenville)
Greenville,ORE,USA -The Greenville News, by Rudolph Bell -August 21, 2014: -- Electric bus maker Proterra may have to expand its Greenville factory if Seattle's transit agency exercises its options under a newly inked contract, Proterra's chief executive said... CEO Ryan Popple said the deal with King County Metro Transit has the potential to be Proterra's biggest single piece of business ever... The transit agency has bought two of Proterra's battery-powered, zero-emission buses for testing, and if that goes well, could buy 200 more buses over five years at $800,000 each, Popple said... That would mean more than $100 million in revenue, he said, and likely trigger the need to expand Proterra's 184-worker factory along Interstate 85 in Greenville...Labels: electric busmakers news
ELECTRIC BUSES * Sweden: Volvo's
* Sweden - Volvo, ABB partner on fast-charging electric buses
(Photo: An electric buses with “open standards-based” dc fast-charging systems)
Stockholm,Sweden -SAE International -18 Aug 2014: -- The Volvo plug-in hybrid bus, which will officially debut at the IAA exhibition in Hanover, Germany, in September, is equipped with a 150-kW (70-kW continuous) electric motor powered by a 600-V, 19-kW·h lithium-ion battery, as well as a 5.1-L Euro 6 diesel engine that produces 240 hp (179 kW) and 918 N·m (677 lb·ft)... The first joint project, for the Luxembourg public transport system, involves the implementation of automatic e-bus chargers and up to 12 Volvo plug-in hybrid-electric buses, which will be operated by Sales-Lentz and run on existing public bus lines as of 2015, the companies said in a July 21 announcement of the global partnership... Volvo Bus plans to deliver the first six plug-in hybrids in 2015, and six more in 2016...
Labels: electric busmakers news
ELECTRIC BUSMAKERS NEWS * China / Brazil: ByD's
Chinese electric buses coming
(Photo: An Electric_bus_BK6122EV1)
Curitiba,RGrazil -Curitiba in English -August 11, 2014: -- BYD, the world’s largest manufacturer of rechargeable batteries, has announced that the city of Campinas, in the São Paulo region of Brazil, has been selected as the home for the company’s newest factory. It is the company’s first South American manufacturing facility. BYD, whose slogan is “Build Your Dreams”, is based in Shenzhen, China, and builds battery technology and electric vehicles... According to BYD publicity, the facility will launch the manufacturing and assembly of the world’s only long range pure electric transit bus in South America, as well as the first fire safe and recyclable iron-phosphate battery packs...Labels: electric busmakers news
