Electric cars are nothing new. They are readily accessible to consumers. Companies are now manufacturing cars with batteries capable of driving longer distances between charges. But what about on a larger scale? What about the environmental issues associated with city buses?
The United Kingdom has taken a bold stance concerning reducing the carbon footprint caused by diesel blowing city buses, with the introduction of their first all-electric bus route. The buses will be closely monitored over a five year period, and tested to determine their effectiveness. Their goal is in exploring how electric buses can take better care of the environment, without compromising their commitment to passenger service. With a fleet of eight electric buses, they run a total of 17 hours per day, 7 days a week, covering 56,000 miles per annum.
In order to keep up with the same schedule as the diesel buses, they charge overnight. They receive additional charges throughout the day from a series of power coils buried below the roads surface. Buses park over top of the coils for what is known as inductive charging, and a 10 minute park will replenish two-thirds of the buses power. Wireless charging has resolved past issues with the buses running out of juice while in service, which is the reason why the project has always been sidelined in the past. With the new system in place, they are hopeful to demonstrate how these buses can provide true parity with their diesel counterparts, while greatly reducing carbon emissions.
If all goes according to plan, the new fleet of electric buses will reduce carbon emissions by 270 tons per year. As the project proves successful, the fleet will be grown in number, with hopes of reducing CO2 by as much as 680 tons per year.
John Bint, cabinet member with the division of highways and transport, has stated that the project took well over a year to plan, but is now progressing quite nicely. While a total change will not be as rapid as some would like, eventual plans call for the total elimination of their entire fleet of traditional, and highly pollutant, diesel buses.
The U.K. has taken a bold stance in their efforts at providing a healthier environment, and all eyes are upon them, anxiously awaiting the conclusive outcome. Should the project prove as successful as environmentalist are hoping, it will more than likely create a worldwide avalanche, with other countries quickly following suit.