| # Governor Cuomo Announces All-Electric Bus Pilot Program to Reduce Emissions and Modernize Public Transit Fleet |
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MTA will Test 10 New Buses by Proterra and New Flyer with the Hope of Ordering an Additional 60 All-Electric Buses New Buses Feature WiFi, USB Ports; Photos Available Here Pilot Follows Successful Completion of Study of Best Practice in Electric Bus Market Governor Andrew Cuomo today announced the start of a three-year pilot program for 10 all-electric buses with the goal of reducing emissions and modernizing the MTA’s bus fleet. Using lessons learned from the initial phase of the pilot, the MTA intends to order an additional 60 all-electric buses. Timing of the larger order will be dictated by the buses’ performance during the initial phase of the pilot. The new zero-emission, all-electric buses support environmental sustainability, are quieter than traditional buses, and will feature amenities such as Wi-Fi and USB ports to enhance customer experience. “As we overhaul and reimagine the MTA, we have an opportunity to not only modernize our bus fleet but to also reduce emissions that impact the environment and public health,”& |
Compressed natural gas as a fuel sounds like a variation on an old theme. CTA had a sizable fleet of propane-fueled buses in the 1950’s and 1960’s. I’m not so sure as to how well battery-powered buses will hold up, especially when the temperatures drop.
*Electric Bus Boondoggle?*How Cedar Rapids, Iowa’s grand experiment in electric-powered transit went bust.
Published: 29-Jul-2007
CEDAR RAPIDS — In a fenced-in lot along a railroad track off B Avenue NW, nine city buses sit in a line, little worn and little wanted…
http://evworld.com/news.cfm?newsid=15780
Has the technology improved greatly over the last decade or so?
Yes.
Lithium-ion batteries provide a much higher specific energy than batteries available 10 years ago along with substantial changes in power electronics. Battery lifetime is improving as well. OTOH, there are still applications where a hydrocarbon fuled bus is the best solution.
If these catch on, that’s the end of rails in the street.
Not necessarily, streetcars/LRV’s can haul a lot more people per vehicle. Driver’s wages and overhead make up for a good portion of the total cost of providing bus service.
Nothing new here…
So what kind of batteries did the Cedar Rapids buses have ? Also may have been short of mechanics that knew the ins and outs of electric systems ? They might even be retrofitted with new tech ?
There still is the problem with these new buses that the LI ion batteries may catch fire. If the new buses use high density Li Ion then the fire hazzard can be a problem if proper quality control is not maintained. Cost of batteries is certainly a factor.
Charging is also a problem. Recharging a Li Ion especially a high density one just after use when it still is hot has its hazards. If that problem can be solved then these Buses may work.
Here’s a vox article from a few months back. https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2017/10/24/16519364/electric-buses The Proterra bus NYC is looking at set a record for longest distance traveled by any electric vehicle on a single charge and they have fast charge technology similar to Tesla. Also in the article, not the financials are favorable since the lifecycle costs are competitive, but there’s a bigger up front cost, but up front costs are more likely to be subsidized. I don’t see it replacing rail transit entirely, but Given that LA, Vancouver BC and Seattle have all pledged to go completely electric in the next 10-15 years…
Electric cars, Electric trucks, Electric buses, more Electric trains: We might have the juice to run all of them if we keep using fossil fuels to generate electricity. Probably will need more power plants.
What’s new here is practical battery operation, with no need to spend millions to string wire, or deal with icy weather operation problems.
This is nothing new as Shenzhen in China just went electric. They purchased 16,000+ buses.