Re: Electric bus - partial trolleybus
  prescottt

The UK is a generation behind. The developments in continental Europe and China have moved on from involving any type of fuel-powered engine on board. They've been there, done that - hybrid diesel-electric, diesel generators on trolleybuses, even the NZ Wrightbus (if it ever happens) is now outside the parameters. It has to be all electric on the vehicle.

Of course, everybody is trying to keep away from the money-hole of Primove, Bombardier's equivalent of APS, a money-is-no-object "solution". Except trust the Brits to now come up with the most costly, complicated and least environmentally sound idea - batteries plus diesel plus induction charging:

https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2014/august/new-hybrid-bus-charging-technology-trial-announced https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2014/august/new-hybrid-bus-charging-technology-trial-announced


Tony P

---InTramsDownUnder@..., <matthew@...> wrote : Well the UK appears to be going backwards as the electric/hybrids are
not reliable.

I was in Oxford last week - on my previous visit I noticed that a lot
hybrid buses were running with their engines running all the time -
obviously failed batteries. This visit, most of the hybrid buses had
disappeared. Most of the fleet I saw were 'conventional' diesels.

The hybrids originally appeared because the local council put strict
noise and emission controls on buses operating in the historic city
centre. My guess is the planning control has expired and the fleet
operators took the opportunity to unload their hybrids onto some one
else (like London), and replace them with simpler diesels.