Electric Minibus Oxford

This is a short compilation of video and still images, filmed on a sunny November afternoon.

In the early 1990's Oxford, England, trialed a fleet of four electric minibuses.

The vehicles used were long wheelbase Optare MetroRiders.

A report on their first 500 days of operation found that compared to similar diesel buses (and after taking account of extra emissions at the power station) there was:-

21% less carbon dioxide,
98% less carbon monoxide,
42% less acid gases,
93% less hydrocarbons and
95% less particulates. (the fine particles of soot which clog our lungs, causing lung disease)

Maintenance costs were comparable to diesels, but because of high design and development costs which were spread over just four vehicles they were twice as expensive to purchase. Their lead-acid batteries weighed-in at 2 ¼ tonnes, making them about 2 tonnes heavier than the regular diesel buses.

However despite the environmental advantages the use of battery electric buses in British towns and cities is virtually zero. This is most likely because to Britain's cut-throat deregulated bus industry (where finance is seen to be the only thing which matters) such innovation does not make (financial) sense.

Whilst it is true that rechargeable batteries are very unlikely to last the vehicles' lifetime and the making / half-life reconditioning / disposing of spent batteries also has environmental consequences these are still easier to resolve at specialist facilities (factories, etc.,) than dealing with the human (ill)health consequences of the exhaust fumes given off by motorbuses using liquid and gaseous fuels (diesel, bio-diesel, LPG, CNG etc).

IMPORTANT: Note that 'hybrid' buses are still motorbuses, as the energy comes from an onboard engine.

In January 2009 the EU said that because of high levels of pollution in British town and cities it is going to prosecute the London government. In response the British politicians asked for a 'derogation', ie: more time to deal with the issue. Maybe it would have been better to have introduced more battery electric buses - plus for busier bus routes some overhead wire electric trolleybuses? - as the data above suggests, these have been proven effective solutions to air pollution!

For more information see here... etfl.co.uk

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• electric
• bus
• minibus
• Oxford
• Optare
• MetroRider
• battery
• air
• pollution
• zero
• emission
• solution
• Electricity
• Energy

[Alstom1995]

Aha, I knew I didn't imagine this, I went on one of those as a young boy years ago.