My Nissan Leaf Forum

Via GCC:

Toronto Transit Commission orders 10 battery-electric buses from New Flyer, option for 30 more

http://www.greencarcongress.com/2018/06 ... 2-ttc.html

. . .This award supports TTC’s electric bus program, focused on transforming its fleet into a 100% zero-emission fleet by 2040 and buying only emission-free buses starting in 2025.

TTC announced an order of 10 Proterra electric buses last week. (Earlier post.)

New Flyer was one of three candidates invited to collaborate with TTC in the evaluation of battery-electric buses for TTC service, offering buses with long range and overnight charge capability. The collaboration will assist TTC and the greater public transportation community with the development of bus specifications and the integration of future electric-bus procurements.

The Xcelsior CHARGE award is supported by funding from Infrastructure Canada’s Public Transit Infrastructure Fund (PTIF), which provides funding for new capital projects and planning and studies for transit growth in support of long-term transit plans. TTC’s electric bus program is also funded in part through the Government of Ontario’s GHG Challenge Fund. Depot charging for the buses will be powered by Toronto Hydro, TTC's electricity provider.

Via GCC:

Metro Transit introduces zero-emission BRT to Minneapolis with eight 60' New Flyer Buses

http://www.greencarcongress.com/2018/06 ... metro.html

. . . The purchase of the charging technology and Minnesota-built buses is supported by a $1.75 million grant from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA).

The buses will bring zero-emission public transit to Metro’s new C-line, a dedicated bus rapid transit (BRT) route operated by Metro Transit and scheduled to open in 2019. . . .

Also GCC:

Volvo Buses receives order for 23 electric buses from Arriva in the Netherlands

http://www.greencarcongress.com/2018/06 ... lvo-1.html

. . . The buses will operate in the city of Leiden in the province of South Holland.

Deliveries of the battery-electric buses equipped with 200 kWh battery packs will take place between Q1 and Q3 in 2019. . . .

The buses will be fast-charged using four charging stations which will be delivered by ABB. The charging stations will be based on an open interface—OppCharge—which means they can be used by other electrified bus makes as well. Energy consumption for Volvo’s electric buses is about 80% lower than for corresponding diesel buses.

The fully electric buses are being sold as a complete turnkey package whereby Volvo takes care of all vehicle maintenance at a fixed monthly cost. . . .

Via GCC:

Creative Bus Sales sells 18 electric school buses in California; Motiv Power Systems

http://www.greencarcongress.com/2018/07 ... motiv.html

Creative Bus Sales has received purchase orders for 18 new electric Starcraft eQuest XL school buses powered by Motiv Power Systems, slated for delivery to districts throughout California this fall. Funding for the buses was provided by the North and South Coast Air Quality Management Districts.

The eQuest XL school buses are built on the Ford F59-based Motiv EPIC 6 chassis. The CARB-certified, all-electric buses provide a maximum capacity of forty-eight passengers and 90 miles of range on a single charge. The eQuest XL buses also feature flexible ADA seating that can be configured to accommodate up to eight wheelchairs for routes serving students with special needs.

Districts receiving Motiv powered school buses include seven Los Angeles districts (Los Angeles Unified School District, Covina-Valley Unified School District, Montebello Unified School District, Anaheim Elementary School District, Savanna School District, Coachella Valley Unified School, and Magnolia School District); Brawley Elementary School District in the San Diego region; and Gateway Unified School District in Redding California.

These districts join those in Long Island, Sacramento, Kings Canyon and San Bernardino in transitioning to all-electric Motiv powered buses. . . .

Via GCC:

TfL orders 31 Optare electric doubler-decker buses

http://www.greencarcongress.com/2018/08 ... ptare.html

Transport for London (TfL) has ordered 31 Optare Metrodecker EV double-decker buses; the buses . . . will be added to London’s fleet by next summer.

The lightweight, fully electric Metrodecker has a passenger capacity of up to 99. A 200 kWh lithium iron magnesium phosphate battery pack delivers up to 105-145 miles (170-230 km) on a single charge, dependent on duty cycle and equipment options.

A 40kW integrated on-board charger connects to standard commercial three phase supply.

The buses will be used on Metroline’s iconic routes 43 (Friern Barnet – London Bridge) and 134 (North Finchley – Tottenham Court Road), which will become exclusively operated by electric double deckers. . . .

Via GCC:

Berlin orders 15 Solaris electric buses

http://www.greencarcongress.com/2018/08 ... laris.html

Berlin’s public transit operator BVG has ordered fifteen 12-meter electric buses from Solaris, which will arrive in the capital of Germany in 2019. . . .

The battery buses for Berlin will be powered by axles with integrated traction motors. The energy will be stored in a set of Solaris High Energy type batteries with a total capacity of 240 kWh, and its replenishment will be carried out through a plug-in socket, which is the standard solution for Solaris electric buses. . . .

The vehicles can accommodate a maximum of 65 passengers, 28 of them seated. Eight seats will be available from the low floor, making it easier for people with reduced mobility to take their seats.

Right now there are 27 Solaris electric buses in total operating the streets of German cities, including Brunswick, Hannover, Hamburg, Frankfurt, and Dresden.

All via GCC:

Montréal and Laval award Canada’s largest-yet battery-electric bus contract to New Flyer

http://www.greencarcongress.com/2018/08 ... 5-nfi.html

The Société de Transport de Montréal (STM) and the Société de transport de Laval (STL) have awarded New Flyer a contract for 40 forty-foot, zero-emission, battery-electric Xcelsior CHARGE heavy-duty transit buses, marking the largest-yet battery-electric bus contract in Canada. The buses will use depot-based charging to slow-charge the buses, which are fitted with 466 kWh battery packs on board. . . .

The notice to proceed for the pilot bus is expected 31 October 2018, and the notice to proceed for the production buses is expected following the nine month review of the pilot bus.

The new order, supported by funding from provincial and federal governments, includes 10 buses for STL and 30 buses for STM, together making it the largest Canadian battery-electric bus procurement to date. . . .

Currently, both agencies operate battery-electric bus pilot programs, and intend to be fully electric in future with STL and STM committing to buy only electric buses as of 2023 and 2025, respectively. . . .

STM provides public transportation in Montréal, Québec, via bus, taxibus, paratransit, and subway services, delivering more than 260 million passenger rides per year. It is the second-most heavily used urban mass transit system in Canada and the third-most heavily used rapid transit system in North America.

STL provides public transportation via bus and paratransit services in the community of Laval, Québec, delivering more than 20 million passenger rides per year.

BYD delivers first 3 battery-electric buses to Chattanooga

http://www.greencarcongress.com/2018/08 ... 4-byd.html

. . . Momentum Dynamics developed a 200-kilowatt wireless charging system to support zero-emission transit buses in Chattanooga. The system automatically charges as passengers load and unload. . . .

More EV buses for Park City:

https://www.parkcity.org/Home/Component ... ews/29717/

Interesting they would attempt that for the PC-SLC route. I wonder what the specs would look like for a model to handle the climbs (and downgrades) over that distance.

Via GCC:

BYD delivers first battery-electric bus to IndyGo

http://www.greencarcongress.com/2018/09 ... 3-byd.html

IndyGo, the largest public transportation provider in the state of Indiana, and BYD announced the delivery of the first K11 60-foot battery-electric bus to serve Indianapolis. The bus is the first of 13 ordered for the Red Line by IndyGo.

This K11 will serve IndyGo’s Red Line, a 13.1-mile route that runs between Broad Ripple on the north side of the city and the University of Indianapolis on the south side, offering more frequent service and longer hours than current routes. The Red Line is the densest corridor in terms of population and employment within Marion County.

The bus purchases are part of IndyGo’s plans to replace all its diesel buses with electric models by 2032 . . . At least some of the energy required to charge the buses will be derived from a 1 megawatt Solar system mounted atop IndyGo’s garage.

LTLFTcomposite wrote:More EV buses for Park City:

https://www.parkcity.org/Home/Component ... ews/29717/

Interesting they would attempt that for the PC-SLC route. I wonder what the specs would look like for a model to handle the climbs (and downgrades) over that distance.

Looking at the timetable for that route, it appears it is designed to be handled by two buses, both garaged in Salt Lake City. Each bus makes four round trips daily each of which is comprised of 2 55- to 65-minute one-way trips with six stops each and a 10-minute stop at each terminus. The one-way distance traveled is 26 miles for a total of 208 miles each day. Total time on the route each day is 8.5 hours (excluding the 5.5 hours of breaks in SLC in the middle of the day).

If the vehicle rests and charges during the entire 5.5-hours of breaks each day, this route can be easily serviced using Proterra Catalyst E2 Max buses. That would only require the buses travel 104 miles over a 4.25-hour period before being fully recharged. That would only require a minimum efficiency of 5.8 kWh/mile or an average draw of 70 kW or less while enroute (assuming 600 kWh used each half-day).

The worst-case scenario is for a 660-kWh Proterra bus that is only charged at night and serves other routes in SLC for the other five hours of the day. In that case, the total driving range for the day would approach 300 miles. If we assume no charging during the entire 14-hour day, the minimum efficiency required would be about 2 kWh/mile (assumes 600 kWh used). That seems extremely unlikely for a vehicle which achieves an efficiency of only 1.89 kWh/mile without HVAC.

Another idea is that the bus travels the 300 miles but is charged at each of the terminus locations for a total of about 120 minutes per day. According to Proterra's specifications, their E2 buses can charge at 325 kW using the overhead charger. This approach could add another 650 kWh of charge through the course of the day. Adding that to the 600 kWh that was available at the start of the day, that comes to a total of 1250 kWh available, which would allow the completion of this route structure even if average efficiency dropped to 4.2 kWh/mile. This is equivalent to an average draw of 89 kW over the course of the entire 14-hour day.

In any case, use of the Proterra buses on this route will significantly reduce energy consumption as well as overall cost when compared with the use of a diesel bus.

These buses when equipped with the Duopower drivetrain can climb a 23% grade, so there is no issue with the slopes involved.

My conclusion is that this route can be handled by buses which are currently available from Proterra. Operational considerations will determine what features the buses need in order to meet the requirements.

Via GCC:

First Blue Bird electric school buses delivered in North America

http://www.greencarcongress.com/2018/09 ... ebird.html

Blue Bird just delivered the first electric-powered school buses to customers in California and Ontario, just in time for the new school year. Seven Type-D All American Rear Engine Electric school buses and one Type A Micro Bird G5 Electric school bus will be in operation this year.

All of the customers who obtained electric school buses were able to do so through the help of financial grants offered by various entities and government programs. These grants helped to pay for all or part of the cost of the buses, as well as some necessary infrastructure costs.

Jack Matrosov of Wheelchair Accessible Transit, based in Toronto, Ontario, was able to add a Micro Bird G5 Electric school bus to his fleet through the use of the Electric and Hydrogen Vehicle Incentive Program (EHVIP), which is offered by Ontario’s government. The grant also allowed him to cover nearly all of the costs of the infrastructure needed for this bus.

The larger, 72-passenger buses ordered by customers in California have a similar design to the many Blue Bird Type D CNG buses that districts operate in the state today. These districts utilized many California-based grants, including South Coast AQMD and HVIP, which helped to pay towards the cost of the buses and infrastructure. . . .