Electric bus

An electric bus is a bus powered by electricity.

There are two capital electric bus categories:

Non-autonomous electric buses:

The trolleybus is a blazon of electric bus powered by two aerial electric wires, with electricity getting fatigued from one wire and alternate via the added wire, application two roof-mounted trolley poles.

The gapbus is a bus after balustrade or apparent ability lines, and it can allotment the alley lane with added cars as well. Ability is supplied over a gap of 12 cm (4.7 in) from a ability band anchored in the ground.1

The onboard stored-electricity bus (autonomous electric buses):

Battery electric bus and capabus

Gyrobus

For advice on buses application a aggregate of centralized agitation engines and electric propulsion, see Hybrid electric buses and Dual-mode buses.

Capabus

The best ultracapacitors can alone abundance about 5 percent of the activity that lithium-ion batteries hold, attached them to a brace of afar per charge. This makes them abortive as an activity accumulator average for commuter vehicles. But what ultracapacitors abridgement in ambit they accomplish up in their adeptness to rapidly allegation and discharge. So in cars that accept to stop frequently and predictably as allotment of accustomed operation, activity accumulator based alone on ultracapacitors begins to accomplish sense.2

China is experimenting with a new anatomy of electric bus, accepted as Capabus, which runs after connected aerial curve by application ability stored in ample onboard electric double-layer capacitors, which are bound recharged whenever the car stops at any bus stop (under alleged electric umbrellas), and absolutely answerable in the terminus.

A few prototypes were getting activated in Shanghai in aboriginal 2005. In 2006, two bartering bus routes began to use electric double-layer capacitor buses; one of them is avenue 11 in Shanghai.3 In 2009, Sinautec Automobile Technologies,4 based in Arlington, VA, and its Chinese partner, Shanghai Aowei Technology Development Company5 are testing with 17 forty-one bench Ultracap Buses confined the Greater Shanghai breadth back 2006 after any above abstruse problems.6 Buses in the Shanghai pilot are fabricated by Germantown, TN-based Foton America Bus Co.7 Another 60 buses will be delivered aboriginal next year with ultracapacitors that accumulation 10 watt-hours per kilogram.

Foton America Bus Co is in talks with New York City, Chicago, and some towns in Florida about trialing the buses.

The buses accept actual anticipated routes and allegation to stop regularly, every 3 afar (4.8 km), acceptance opportunities for quick recharging. The ambush is to about-face some bus stops forth the avenue into charging stations. At these stations, a beneficiary on the top of the bus rises a few anxiety and touches an aerial charging line. Within a brace of minutes, the ultracapacitor banks stored beneath the bus seats are absolutely charged. The buses can aswell abduction activity from braking, and the aggregation says that recharging stations can be able with solar panels. A third bearing of the product, which will accord 20 afar (32 km) of ambit per allegation or better. 2

Sinautec estimates that one of its buses has one-tenth the activity amount of a agent bus and can accomplish lifetime ammunition accumulation of $200,000. Also, the buses use 40 percent beneath electricity compared to an electric trolley bus, mainly because they are lighter and accept the adorning braking benefits. The ultracapacitors are fabricated of activated carbon, and accept an activity body of six watt-hours per kilogram (for comparison, a high-performance lithium-ion array can accomplish 200 watt-hours per kilogram), but the ultracapacitor bus is aswell cheaper than lithium-ion array buses, about 40 percent beneath expensive, with a far above believability rating.26

There is aswell a constituent amalgam version, which aswell uses ultracaps.

editFuture developments

The Oreos 2X by PVI

Sinautec is in discussions with MIT's Schindall about developing ultracapacitors of college activity body application angular accumbent carbon nanotube structures that accord the accessories added apparent breadth for captivation a charge. So far, they are able to get alert the activity body of an absolute ultracapacitor, but they are aggravating to get about 5 times. This would actualize an ultracapacitor with one-quarter of the activity body of a lithium-ion battery.8

Future developments includes the use of anterior charging beneath the street, to abstain aerial wiring. A pad beneath anniversary bus stop and at anniversary stop ablaze forth the way would be used.

Solar-charged

Tindo is an beginning array electric bus getting activated in Adelaide, Australia. The chat "Tindo" comes from the ancient chat for sun. The bus will get its electricity from a photovoltaic arrangement on Adelaide's axial bus station. Rides are chargeless as allotment of Adelaide's accessible carriage system

Zinc

There is a 40-foot (12.2 m) authentic electric bus getting developed, application a pre-commercial array technology. Electric Fuel Corporation is developing and demonstrating a 40-foot (12.2 m) electric bus powered by a zinc air cell,10 forth with an ultracapacitor. The zinc-air activity device, generally declared as a battery, converts zinc to zinc oxide in a action that provides activity to the bus. The bus is not recharged; instead, the zinc oxide cartridges are swapped out for new zinc ones. This bus has apparent a ambit of over 100 afar (160 km) in testing and has been approved in Las Vegas, Nevada. However, this technology is in the development phase, and several above hurdles have to be affected afore it can be adopted for alteration agile use, including accessible refueling basement or use in bus stations

Onboard solar panels

Air conditioning

Solar panels and supercapacitors are acclimated in some electric buses to ability the specific air conditioning circuit.

Makers and models

There are currently added than 25 manufacturers of trolleybuses. See Trolleybus makers.

Makers of added types of all-electric (mostly battery-powered) buses:

APS Systems, Oxnard, CA, shuttle buses in affiliation with Enova Systems12 and Saft13

Astonbus,14 Marina del Rey, CA: E-city midi and full-size models, with a ambit amid 250 and 500 km. Astonbus is the Zonda Electric bus sole benefactor in all EU states.

BredaMenarinibus 15 in Bologna, Italy. Zeus M-200 E model, with Ansaldo Electric Drive motor and 288V - 200 Ah lithium-ion batteries.

Designline International, in New Zealand: The Tindo solar-electric bus (prototype only).

Ebus,16 in Downey, California, minibuses : 22 anxiety (6.7 m) buses .

Iveco, in Turin, Italy: EuroPolis model.

Jiangsu Alfa Bus company,17 Jiangsu, China, delivered in Italy by Rama Company.

Lujo EV, in Weihai City, Shandong Prov., China.18: Lujo YX Bus69 LHD (9 m, best acceleration 80 km/h, best ambit 220 km).

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is developing electric buses that are able of array swapping.

Optare: Solo EV.

Proterra 19 in Golden, CO: 35 anxiety (11 m) full-size bus FCBE 35.

PVI, abreast Paris, France : Oreos 2X, Oreos 4X broadcast beneath the cast Gepebus 20

Smith Electric Vehicles, Kansas City, Missouri, Speedster and Edison21 electric minibuses.2223

Specialty Vehicle Manufacturing Corp. (SVMC) in Downey, CA.

Tecnobus,24 in Frosinone, Italy. The Gulliver archetypal is currently acclimated in several cities in Canada, England, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal and Spain.

Thomas Congenital Buses Inc. 2526 in High Point, NC.

Thunder Sky Energy Group27 of Shenzhen, China (near Hong Kong) builds lithium-ion batteries and has four models of electric buses, the ten commuter EV-6700 with a ambit of 260 km (160 mi), the TS-6100EV and TS-6110EV city-limits buses (top acceleration 80 km/h), and the 43 commuter Thunder-Sky-EV-2008 artery bus (top acceleration 100 km/h), which has a ambit of 300 km (190 mi). The batteries can be recharged in one hour or replaced in 5 minutes. The buses are aswell to be congenital in the United States and Finland.

U.S. Electricar in Santa Rosa, California.282930

Zonda Bus, in Jiangsu, China:31 YCK6128HEC (12 m), YCK6118HEC (11 m) and the Zonda Bus New Energy (with a 500 km only-electric ambit and a array lifespan of aloft 500,000 km).32

In Europe electric bus Solaris Urbino 8,9 LE33 with about 100 km (60 miles) ambit and about 120 kWh array backpack was alien in September 2011. Production archetypal should be accessible in 2013.

Transit use

Transit authorities that use array buses or added types of all-electric buses, added than trolleybuses:

editAsia

editChina

Shanghai (capabuses).

YanCheng.34

editJapan

Community Bus "Hamurun"

Community Bus "Hamurun" (Operated by Nishi Tokyo Bus) in Hamura, Tokyo back March 10, 201235

Community Bus "Sumida Hyakkei" (Operated by Keisei Bus) in Sumida, Tokyo back March 20, 201236

editCanada

editQuébec

Réseau de carriage de la Capitale, Quebec City's accessible alteration ascendancy has chip 8 electric buses to its agile in 2008 to serve the Old City.37 The Tecnobus Gulliver buses can backpack up to 20 cartage and runs on $3.25 account of electricity per day.38

Montreal, bus agile traveling all-electric by 2025.39

editEurope

There is an European Union charge that mandates the acquirement of electric buses for accessible services.

Gruppo Torinese Trasporti — Turin, Italy

editSpain

Empresa Malagueña de Transportes (EMT), S.A.M40

Empresa Municipal de Transportes de Madrid (20 all-electric and 20 amalgam diesel-electric buses)41

Councillor for the Environment, Figueres 42

León: Minibus Tecnobus Gulliver 4344

Seville 43

editUnited States

This area requires expansion.

Federal Alteration Administration Clean Air Program 45

Anaheim, CA

Atlanta, GA (at Emory University)

Chattanooga, TN

Colorado Springs, CO

Hampton, VA

Los Angeles, CA

Miami Beach

Mobile, AL

New Haven, CT

Santa Barbara, CA

San Francisco, area electric trolleybuses are already commonplace on a lot of SF Muni routes.

editCalifornia

There is a Californian authorization (Zero Emission Bus, in short, ZBus) that 15% of new buses afterwards 2011 be electric.46 The ZBus Regulation is allotment of the Agile Rule for Alteration Agencies, which is aswell referred to as the Accessible Alteration Agencies Regulation