Buses World News
In brief: Worldwide montly news & informations about Buses, Busmakers, Passengers' and the Transport Industry
ELECTRIC BUSES * China: BYD's - * Sweden / * Germany: Volvo's & Scania's
* China - BYD Electric Bus sales: 4,000 per year in
(Photo: BYD Recived Order For Over 600 Electric Buses and 400 Electric Taxis From Nanjing)
California,USA -Inside EVs, by Eric Loveday -3 January 2015: -- There’s little information available, but according to a tweet from CALSTART, the self-declared “leading catalyst organization for the global clean transportation technology industry,” BYD electric bus sales are incredibly high in China... The tweet references Brendan Riley, vice-president of fleet sales at BYD Motor, and states that BYD sells 4,000 electric buses per year in China. It then compares that figure to U.S. annual sales of buses (all types, mostly diesels: 5,000 units)... This 4,000-unit figure is shocking. We wouldn’t have pegged electric bus sales at anywhere near that annual volume in China. These figures show that in the electric bus space, BYD has no competition. Other electric bus makers are lucky to sell a few hundred units per year globally, while BYD sells 4,000 in just one country, plus a couple thousand more elsewhere outside of China...
* Sweden - Volvo’s first electric hybrid in commercial service in Hamburg, Germany
Göteborg, Sweden -Business Wire -December 19, 2014: -- The new Volvo 7900 Electric Hybrid commenced scheduled operation in Hamburg on December 18. The starting shot for the innovative bus system coincided with the opening of the Innovation Route 109. The route will be used by the public transport company in Hamburg, the Hamburger Hochbahn AG, to run comparative tests of innovative drive technologies under the strict everyday conditions of scheduled services. The city of Hamburg has established the target: from 2020, only emission-free buses should be acquired by the city...
* Swedish City, Sodertalje, wants to save 13 million gallons per year using wirelessly charged buses
Sodertalje,Sweden -Autoevolution (UK), by BY IONUT UNGUREANU -21 DEC 2014: -- In case you thought the entire electric vehicle industry is going bankrupt over the sudden price lowering of gas (felt the most in the US), we’re here to tell there still might be hope for fresh air in the future. While most of the country is happy to fill their tanks with a lot less cash, some people around the world are going forward with their plans of switching from dinosaur-juice-addicted machines to electric cars... But what if we were to tell there is yet another company that is looking to test a wirelessly charged electric-hybrid city bus. It’s the brainchild of the Sweden-based busmaker Scania who is claiming that this is actually possible. In fact, the bus will start operating on the streets of Sodertalje, a city 30 minutes away from Stockholm, in June 2016, as part of a research project into sustainable vehicle technology... Labels: hybrid electric buses
BUSMAKERS NEWS * Sweden: Volvo's * Germany: MAN's * UK: Optare's & * Finnland
* VOLVO Buses launches the all new plug-in electric hybrid bus
Gothenburg,Sweden -Busworld -24 Sept 2014: -- The plug-in hybrid drive reduces diesel fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions by up to 75%, compared to a conventional diesel bus. Total energy consumption is reduced by 60%... The Volvo Electric Hybrid Driveline is an extension of the well-proven driveline used in the Volvo 7900 Hybrid. The difference lies in a more powerful electric motor, increased energy storage and equipment for overhead conductive opportunity charging. The bus is equipped with a 150 kW electric motor that delivers maximum torque of 1200 N•m (85 lb-ft) and is powered by a 19 kWh Li-ion battery pack as well as a 240 hp/918 N°m Volvo D5K 240, 4-cylinder, in-line Euro 6 diesel engine with common rail injection... Three Volvo Electric Hybrids have run in a field test in Gothenburg over the past year, a test that has verified the reduction in energy consumption and emissions. As of this autumn and for two years ahead, eight Volvo Electric Hybrids will be put into regular operation in central Stockholm...
* Germany - MAN CNG Buses for Paris/France and Sofia/Bugary
Munich,Germany -Busworld -26 Sept 2014: -- MAN has secured major orders for natural gas powered buses from France and Bulgaria. Paris-based RATP has purchased 103 MAN Lion’s City buses, half of which are powered by Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), and Bulgaria’s city of Sofia has acquired 126 Lion’s City buses, all CNG-powered. The buses for Sofia use 310 HP, 6-cylinder natural gas, Euro 6 engines... The MAN buses operate with exceptionally low fuel consumption and low emissions, the company claims. The natural gas drive is an alternative to the conventional diesel drive and significantly undershoots the current stringent emission standard without the need for any additional filter technology or operating media. The buses are also fitted with a four-step six-speed automatic gearbox with built-in retarder...
* UK - Optare to launch single-decker version of the MetroDecker bus
Sherburn,Elmet,North Yorkshire,UK -Busworld -29 Sept 2014: -- Optare is to develop a single-deck variant of its MetroDecker. The as yet unnamed model will be an addition to its UK range and will be available alongside the tempo full-length single-decker... The single-decker will be a derivative of the existing model and give a full low floor area. As with the development of a full-electric MetroDecker, still on target for early next year, an electric single-decker is a possibility. For the Australian market the new bus will be available at 12m, and 12.6m. The new single-decker is expected to be unveiled during 2016 and will share the MetroDecker’s driveline of a 5.1-litre Mercedes-Benz OM934 engine coupled to a six-speed ZF EcoLife gearbox...
* Finland - Linkker starts EV bus production based on Visedo drive
Busworld -27 Sept 2014: -- Finnish electric bus manufacturer Linkker Oy announced that the manufacturing on their Visedo electric drive train based bus will begin... The first test buses are expected to be on the road already by the end of this year... Even as a company Linkker is quite new the bus concept has been already proven in real operation. The basic design is based on the eBus project governed by VTT (Technical research Center of Finland) and has been already in use since 2012 in the concept bus built by Metropolia University. The eBus also took part on test organized by major bus operator where it was found to be extremely efficient by consuming below 0,7 kWh/km energy - where other buses could achieve at minimum 15% higher consumption figures. One of the reasons besides the efficient drive train for the low consumption figures is the light aluminium frame developed by another Finnish bus manufacturer Kabus Oy. The 12m bus itself is even 3 tons lighter than a standard bus...Labels: busmakers news Sweden, hybrid electric buses
ELECTRIC HYBRID BUSES * Sweden
* Stockholm - Electric hybrid buses with quick-charge facility demonstrated in
Stockholm,Sweden -Corporate Vattenhall -25 June 2014: -- Volvo, Vattenfall and SL in cooperation for tomorrow's public transport... Stockholm is set to demonstrate and evaluate how buses with electric power can contribute to better living conditions. This is part of ZeEUS, an EU project being conducted in six European countries. Starting this autumn, eight Volvo electric hybrid buses will enter regular operations in the city. The technology these buses use will offer significantly reduced energy consumption, lower exhaust emissions and less noise. Behind the demo project, which is co-financed by the EU, are Volvo Buses, SL (Stockholm Public Transport) and energy provider Vattenfall... As of this autumn and for two years ahead, eight Volvo electric hybrid buses will be put into regular operations on SL's Route 73, which goes through the heart of central Stockholm...Labels: hybrid electric buses
HYBRID ELECTRIC BUSES * USA - SMART unveils hybrid electric buses
Detroit,MICH,USA -Crains' Detroit Business, by Bill Shea -October 20, 2010: -- The Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation bus system Tuesday unveiled its first two hybrid electric buses it will add to its fleet of 640 vehicles on Nov. 1... The 61-foot reduced-emissions vehicles, which seat 100 and cost $1.6 million in federal stimulus funding, were put on display for local reporters... Because the buses are articulated in the center, they can carry more passengers than the typical 60 people on a standard 40-foot bus... About 10,000 riders use those routes, SMART said in a statement... The buses were manufactured by Canadian bus maker New Flyer Industries Inc., and were delivered nine months sooner than normal because of a deal between SMART and the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority, which already had placed a bus order...
* Illinois - Chicago CTA to buy 2 all-electric buses
Chicago,ILL,USA -Chicago Breaking News, by Jon Hilkevitch -October 28, 2010: -- The Chicago Transit Authority received a $2.2 million federal grant on Thursday to buy two all-electric buses... The battery-powered buses -- the first buses with an all-electric propulsion system in the CTA fleet -- will be tested to see how well they perform in regular service, officials said... The two buses will be standard 40-foot models, but officials have not settled on a brand to purchase or announced when the pilot project will begin. The buses will operate out of one garage that will be equipped with quick-charging units... The CTA currently operates 228 diesel-electric hybrid buses and 1,553 diesel buses, officials said... Both grants supporting environmentally sensitive transportation projects were awarded through the U.S. Department of Transportation's Transportation Investments for Greenhouse Gas and Energy Reduction and Clean Fuels programs... (Images: huffingtonpost: CTA Hybrid Bus large)Labels: hybrid electric buses
NEW BUSES FLEET * USA - Hybrid buses arriving in Kentucky
The first of several hybrid electric school buses is going to the school district in LaRue County
Louisville,KY,USA -The Associated Press/The Lexington Heral Leader -22 July 2010: ... LaRue Superintendent Samuel Sanders, will receive the keys of the ThomasBuilt bus at a ceremony in Louisville on Tuesday... Twenty-two school districts in Kentucky will be adding 34 of the electric hybrid buses to their fleets by next month... The U.S. Department of Energy gave a $13 million grant to the Kentucky Department of Education in December that will offset the purchase price of the hybrid system for 213 buses. The Kentucky Clean Fuels Coalition says the state will have the largest hybrid electric school bus fleet in the nation...* USA - CityBus upgrading more buses to hybrids. Pending board approval, greener buses to comeWest Lafayette,IND,USA -WLFI, by Tiffanie Dismore -21 Jul 2010: -- Greater Lafayette will be a little more green this fall... The Technical Transportation Committee is recommending the Area Plan Commission approve CityBus' request to upgrade buses to hybrids... Pending approval, CityBus will upgrade the three new diesel buses it bought and turn them into electric hybrids... The $480,000 for the project comes from federal funds. Only three transit systems in the state were awarded the money...
Labels: hybrid electric buses, new buses fleet
NEW HYBRID BUSES * USA - BARTA has entered the hybrid age.
BARTA puts 5 hybrid-electric buses into service in Reading area
Reading,PA,USA -The Reading Eagle -16 May 2009: -- On Friday the bus service put five new hybrid-electric buses into service, replacing some from its aging diesel fleet... The hybrid buses run on a combination of diesel fuel and electric power, resulting in a 30 percent to 60 percent fuel savings, said Dennis D. Louwerse, BARTA executive director... Also, the buses release 90 percent less pollutants into the air, he said... The buses cost $514,000 each... BARTA has not decided which routes the hybrids will be used on permanently, Louwerse said, adding that because the buses generate energy through braking, they get the best fuel efficiency when used on urban routes... BARTA plans to purchase four more hybrid buses as part of the $5.6 million it has received in federal stimulus money...(Photo from Barta bus)Labels: hybrid electric buses
HYBRID-ELECTRIC BUSES * USA - City Of Raleigh Unveils New $565,000 buses
Raleigh,NC,USA -The Raleigh Telegram -13 Feb 2009: -- The City of Raleigh has purchased four new clean burning hybrid diesel-electric buses that will serve a free route that will circle downtown and will even run late on weekends. The City of Raleigh also says they may try and fuel the buses with used cooking grease... Called the "R-Line" or Downtown Circulator, the buses will circle around downtown Raleigh as part of a new free service that will run about every 10 or 15 minutes... According to the city, the buses use a hybrid diesel-electric drive which allows the use of battery power during portions of the route, allowing the vehicles to run much cleaner than normal diesel buses... However, the new vehicles are not cheap. The city transit department said that each of the four new buses cost around $565,000 apiece, putting the pricetag at $2.26 million for this initial purchase... The city added that 80% of the funds came from federal tax dollars, with 10% from the city and an additional 10% from other local government funds...Labels: hybrid electric buses
