100% electric buses

[CrabbyMilton]

I came across this company called BYD.
They have a full line of 100% electric buses that look pretty good.
The question is how well will they hold up long term and how long will they really go on a single charge.
Sadly, I predict that many of these will run out of juice and konk out along the interstate leaving a bunch of PO'd people waiting for a diesel powered bus to pick them up.
http://www.byd.com/usa/bus/

[j.m.jackson]

These guys make busses around the corner from me:

https://www.proterra.com/

I often see unmarked or prototype units running around here.

[Oonrahnjay]

    The Chinese bus says that it will accept the same amount of electric power as will light up 3000 100-watt bulbs for charging and charge enough in 1 - 1.5 hours to run more than 150 miles.  I remember my mama telling me about things "too good to be true".

[Gary Hatt - Publisher BCM]

Complete Coach Works in Riverside, CA is also strong in the electric bus market.  They are one of the leading companies in the US converting diesel burners to electric buses for cities around the country.  They have posted several press releases about this on their website. Jay Leno also did an interesting story on YouTube recently about these buses which you can check out here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVXWGBgYj3M.

An all electric bus for the bus conversion market is still quite a few years away but with the newer batteries being developed, this may soon be the wave of the future.  The concern that cities has now is that they are not sure the electrical infrastructure can handle charging all of the electric cars they plan to have in the next few years and I am not sure I want to wait in line at a charging station for an hour for a place to plug in my car to recharge it on a trip.  But for public transit systems, this seems like an ideal solution for a cleaner environment.

But it won't be long before RV parks will have a method of charging electric buses and there will be enough of them scattered around the country so you can travel across the U.S. and charge up your bus every day with enough juice due to better batteries to go 500 or more miles on a charge to make this feasible.  

But don't let this deter you from tuning up your diesel burner bus now  because it will be a few more years until electric buses are feasible for the bus conversion market, but start using up your motor oil because you won't need to change the oil as often in your new electric bus.  

Gary

[windtrader]

Great video, Gary. PM me your ganga dealer - it's going to be more than a "few" years before we busnuts could affordably convert to battery powered bus conversions. Given the start point is $500,000 in conversion cost, 120 mile range, and a 480 volt 100 amp charger.... we need triple the range OTR and 10% of the costs .....  send that number asap. LOL Seriously, nice story as it demonstrates limited commercial viability today.

[Branderson]

I kind of like having an old diesel.  My 6v92 isn't fast but she's steady. 

[Gary Hatt - Publisher BCM]

500 mile range.  Tesla is already there with 80,000 lb. tractor Trailers. Buses won't be far behind. https://www.marketwatch.com/story/tesla-unveils-sleek-electric-big-rig-with-500-mile-range-2017-11-17

[buswarrior]

Let's wait for a real trucking outfit to run the Tesla around the block for more than a publicity and share boosting picture opportunity?

I am reminded of all the "ATOMIC" buzz in the 50's...

Still waiting for that elusive million mile auto with on-board reactor, and Panama Canal was not widened with "nuclear mining" as Reader's Digest anticipated, circa 1960...

Yes, the busnut will benefit from trickle down technology, we will run a margarita mixer off some lithium cast offs...

An auspicious use of the cutting edge?

happy coaching!
buswarrior

[DoubleEagle]

I really have to wonder how an electric bus (or truck) will handle a heavy A/C load, or provide heat. The last truck tractor I had was equipped with battery powered A/C for the sleeper, but it could not keep me cool when parked in the sun (truck drivers don't always get to sleep at night).

[Templar52]

There will be recharge stations along the route. Fast full recharge. The city busses are recharging at the end of theirs lines.

[PP]

I remember when we were dealing with kilobytes of memory in our old 8086 computers and thought a gigabyte would never happen in our lifetime. With that said, I wouldn't rule out a battery conversion for buses with diesel scented air fresheners just to remember the good old days. Or how about Mother Earth News in the 70's and the battery powered Pinto complete with plans. 

[Iceni John]

I've got an idea.   How about having a bus run instead with steel wheels on some steel rails to lower its rolling resistance, and it could also pick up power along the way from some electric wires, maybe suspended above?   Nah, that will never work . . .

John

[CrabbyMilton]

Hey that's an excellent idea John!!! Then they...oh...they did that already and that's the reason why buses were proven to be more popular because they can go anywhere a car can.
I too wonder how long a charge can last given the extreme heat or cold with heaters or AC going full blast.
Then what happens if they get in a traffic jam on the freeway in the middle of winter. They'll long for a diesel then.
Someday these things will be as reliable as internal combustion is now. I believe it but it's going to take longer than just a few years maybe a decade or more.

[Jeremy]

Kinda think this is old news to be honest. The city where I live for example has had a fleet of 100% electric buses for ages and I see them running-about all the time, and I'm sure many other cities have them too. I've just looked it up and see that the operator local to me started using them in 2012 and now have a fleet of 45 all-electric buses. The article I've just read was from 2016 and was actually about when the most recent batch of 13 BYD buses they bought (never heard of them, but apparently it's a Chinese builder) had collectively reached the 1 million mile mark.

Obviously there will be times when electric buses are a good idea and times when they aren't - but as a concept they are well established and proven in many places.

But - if rather than city buses you're actually talking about long-distance all-electric coaches then that's a different kettle-of-fish altogether - that WOULD be much more equivalent to the Tesla truck - or the Thor truck or any of the other manufacturers who've been developing battery-powered Semis for a while and are now really pissed-off that everyone thinks Tesla invented the idea and is the only game in town

Jeremy

[Iceni John]

Tesla (and Thor), be warned!   https://uk.news.yahoo.com/germany-started-building-first-motorway-electric-lorries-154736773.html   So, logically, why couldn't one have fleets of long-distance electric buses pulling power from overhead wires for the long-haul, and then using smaller on-board batteries for around-town local driving?

John