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> The programs unanimously approved Thursday by the California Public Utilities Commission focus on creating the infrastructure to support charging stations par

> The programs unanimously approved Thursday by the California Public Utilities Commission focus on creating the infrastructure to support charging stations particularly for electric trucks and buses, in contrast to previous expenditures, which have focused more on cars. Interesting that they're focusing on these high-utilization vehicles, you'd have thought that a percentage of bus transport and a percentage of freight or delivery transport would already fit the right profile for electric vehicles. For instance UPS or DHL must have some routes which have a lot of deliveries in a small area, in the centre of towns or cities, which are stop start for deliveries and for traffic. Using electric vehicles under those circumstances seems like an open goal.

onlyrealcuzzo 8y ago
They do. But why would they pay for charging stations when they can get the tax payer to cover it for them and keep all the profits to themselves?
- Brakenshire 8y ago
  I was looking recently at a report about the costs of running electric buses, and it seems to be on the edge of profitable at the moment, which is why private investment isn't piling in. It does seem like the right place to make a public investment, though, that will be one of the first areas where electric vehicles will be the hard-nosed cheapest option. Especially given the money will presumably go in part to public institutions like schools, which can potentially reduce bills, certainly in the long-run.
  - ams6110 8y ago
    Even if the buses are not strictly profitable, buses are usually diesel powered and probably contribute quite a bit to smog-forming emissions. So electric buses have the benefit of removing (or relocating) those emissions, which is a public benefit.
    - deleted 8y ago
      [deleted]
    - BRAlNlAC 8y ago
      why is relocating smog and all of the industrial waste associated with the production of a new bus and bus batteries a "public benefit"? Diesel engines last a long time, as do bus bodies, I don't have first hand experience managing a fleet but I'd be very interested to know how the pollution stacks up--is generating, transmitting, distributing, and storing the power, with all the losses incurred, along side making the batteries, which I assume wouldn't last that long in a fleet vehicle, really that much better than just burning diesel? I need to see a spreadsheet or something.
      - seanmcdirmid 8y ago
        California doesn’t get much if it’s energy from coal anyways, utility generation is fairly clean. Not as clean as Washington, which has a lot more hydro, but close.

onlyrealcuzzo 8y ago

They do. But why would they pay for charging stations when they can get the tax payer to cover it for them and keep all the profits to themselves?

Brakenshire 8y ago
I was looking recently at a report about the costs of running electric buses, and it seems to be on the edge of profitable at the moment, which is why private investment isn't piling in. It does seem like the right place to make a public investment, though, that will be one of the first areas where electric vehicles will be the hard-nosed cheapest option. Especially given the money will presumably go in part to public institutions like schools, which can potentially reduce bills, certainly in the long-run.
- ams6110 8y ago
  Even if the buses are not strictly profitable, buses are usually diesel powered and probably contribute quite a bit to smog-forming emissions. So electric buses have the benefit of removing (or relocating) those emissions, which is a public benefit.
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]
  - BRAlNlAC 8y ago
    why is relocating smog and all of the industrial waste associated with the production of a new bus and bus batteries a "public benefit"? Diesel engines last a long time, as do bus bodies, I don't have first hand experience managing a fleet but I'd be very interested to know how the pollution stacks up--is generating, transmitting, distributing, and storing the power, with all the losses incurred, along side making the batteries, which I assume wouldn't last that long in a fleet vehicle, really that much better than just burning diesel? I need to see a spreadsheet or something.
    - seanmcdirmid 8y ago
      California doesn’t get much if it’s energy from coal anyways, utility generation is fairly clean. Not as clean as Washington, which has a lot more hydro, but close.