Transit Systems Are Turning To Hybrid Buses

nytimes.com:

Transit systems from New York to Taipei, and from Ames, Iowa, to Ann Arbor, Mich., are adding hybrid buses at a rapid clip. New York, by far, has the nation's biggest fleet of hybrid buses

Read the whole story: nytimes.com

Comments

[TazoWolf]

We've had hybrid buses in a number of Colorado cities for YEARS.

[Myshkin57]

Get BRT going in every city. That would have an even bigger impact for a multitude of reasons.

[Malkin72]

In State College, PA the buses run on natural gas.

I know it's purely out of self interest, but T. Boone Pickens is right. You can't move a bus or a semi on a battery. Natural gas might be the answer.

We'd have to move to shift as much of the home heating market from gas to another fuel first, though, or the demand and resulting price spike would nullify any cost benefits.

[Russycle]

Obviously New York has proved that you can move a bus on a battery. Trucks are a completely different matter. A hybrid long-haul truck would be stupid, hybrids are at their best in low speed stop-and-go driving. Which is about 100 percent of a city bus' mileage.

[Myshkin57]

Precisely. And electric motors normally have much more torque at low speeds than internal combustion engines.

[mamacat]

For awhile in the 1940s Manhattan dictated that delivery vans had to be battery powered, and they ran almost exclusively at night. There were thousands of vans powered by batteries running around the city.
So, back in the days before microcomputers, transistors, regenerative braking, or fancy batteries, thousands of electric vans were being used in Manhattan.
I have never seen anything in print about this subject, but I talked to a man who was a mechanic for Railway Express back then, who had to go out and rescue these vans if they ran out of juice.

[Malkin72]

Are they electric buses or hybrids?

I'm not aware of any 100% electric buses.

That would be the ultimate end goal, but in the meantime, compared to the gasoline powered buses I drive behind now in Pittsburgh, the ones in State College were a pleasure to follow.

[mamacat]

Some cities use electric buses, powered off of overhead power lines. Would this be more expensive for NYC than hybrid buses?

[BowlingForRevenge]

Those are essentially trolleys

[Russycle]

Nope, Seattle has an extensive set up of buses powered by overhead lines. I believe they can also run on diesel, but can't swear to that.

[DRaymond]

Electric busses running on overhead wires are common in many cities. they are like trolleys except that they require two wires instead of one. There is usually enough sway in the wires to allow the bus the choice of two lanes. The big downsides are the lack of flexibility and the fact that the wires are considered an eyesore and potential safety hazzard.

Another system that is showing some promise for short haul shuttle routes is a quick charge recharging ability built just at the bus stops.

[weatherwaxx]

"Seduced" by hybrid buses? Oh, come on now...

[Russycle]

So can we get some real numbers as to how much these hybrids cost compared to conventional buses? I think they're worth it just for the reduced pollution, but it's nice to know what the bottom line is. I'm sure the city has crunched the numbers, is it just too hard for the reporter to understand them? Sheesh!

Here's my best guess, from the spotty info in the article.

Hybrid Purchase: $500,000
Diesel Purchase: $250,000

Fuel Savings: $150,000 ($3/gal)
Batteries, Hybrid: $60,000/6 years
Maintenance, Hybrid: ???????????
Maintenance, Diesel: ??????????????

Factor in that you need to purchase fewer hybrids because they spend less time in the garage and hence, more time on the road, and it's very possible that hybrids come in about even with diesels in the long run.

But I guess we'll never know because math is too hard for NY Times reporters. Are they bankrupt yet?

[CrzyRussell]

CNG buses are easier to maintain and have a lower initial cost. Also at this time the carbon footprint for all hybrids is greater than the CNG coaches or even the traditional cars with the best mileage.

[KIVPossum]

Sure, but we don't let facts get in the way of our love for hybrids.

[mamacat]

Why can't a bus have a CNG engine, instead of a diesel, and still be a hybrid?