Many cities around the world are experimenting with electric buses. A system for quickly recharging along the route is a highly desirable feature, as it allows batteries to be smaller. Systems currently being tested in Geneva and Sweden use an automated arm on top of the bus that connects to an overhead flash charger. In… Read more »
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) has approved a contract with China-based BYD Motors to purchase up to 25 all-electric buses as part of a $30 million pilot project. Metro currently has a fleet of 2,238 natural gas buses operating on 183 routes. The new BYDs will be the agency’s first electric buses…. Read more »
ABB has developed a new flash charging system for city buses, and is working with the city of Geneva’s public transport company and electric power utility SIG on a pilot project. The TOSA (Trolleybus Optimisation Système Alimentation) will be deployed for the first time on a 135-passenger electric bus. The system enables onboard batteries to… Read more »
Chinese EV maker BYD has purchased a facility in Lancaster, California, to house its electric bus manufacturing operations. The plant was formerly operated by Rexhall Industries, a maker of RVs. Several Rexhall employees, including company CEO William Rex, will stay on as the plant makes the transition to BYD ownership. According to BYD, the manufacturing… Read more »
After several delays and much controversy, the Long Beach Transit Board voted on Monday to award a $12.1 million contract to purchase 10 electric buses to a US subsidiary of the Chinese firm BYD. The contract is funded mainly by the federal government’s Transit Investment for Greenhouse Gas and Energy Reduction (TIGGER) program, one of… Read more »
Under the agreement, SAIG will purchase Balqon’s electric drive system which SAIG will incorporate into a 22-foot bus chassis.
Senior VP Li Ke told the Xinhua News Agency that the factory will be in California, and will be able to produce 50 to 100 buses in 2014.
The new bus scored both the highest fuel economy (22 MPGe) and lowest noise (10 times lower, in fact) of any full-size passenger bus ever tested.
The city of Milton Keynes in the UK will replace the diesel buses on one route with eight electric buses that will use wireless charging. The trial will begin in summer 2013.
Chinese manufacturer BYD will provide its electric buses to Israeli transit operator Dan Bus. The eventual goal is to replace about half of Dan Bus's fleet of 1,300 buses and minibuses.