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This has not been the experience in London which will soon have over 200 fully electric buses, most of which have BYD drivetrains. By all accounts, they have pr

This has not been the experience in London which will soon have over 200 fully electric buses, most of which have BYD drivetrains. By all accounts, they have proven at least as reliable as their diesel counterparts.

bobthepanda 7y ago
Units in Indiana and Albuquerque, NM have not been performing with the advertised range: https://www.ibj.com/articles/73113-indygos-new-electric-buses-cant-go-the-distance https://www.ibj.com/articles/73113-indygos-new-electric-buse...
- Reason077 7y ago
  I believe the differences here for London are: - Much milder winter temperatures. Certainly nothing like the -10F experienced in Indiana. - Lower daily mileages. Even though London buses are operated intensively all day long, average speeds are low and a typical bus certainly wouldn’t exceed 200 miles in a day. There is plenty of buffer between what is demanded of the batteries and what they’re capable of.
clouddrover 7y ago
> By all accounts Do you have links to the accounts?
ddeck 7y ago
>they have proven at least as reliable as their diesel counterparts Things may have improved recently, but that certain was not the experience in Hong Kong: "Five Hong Kong electric buses pulled from service in under two weeks due to glitches"[1] "Hong Kong electric buses pulled from the road for third time in nine months"[2] "Trial run of five Hong Kong electric buses delayed indefinitely due to bus stop bell problems"[3] "KMB electric bus runs into trouble on first day of trial"[4] [1] https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/2038314/hong-kong-electric-buses-pulled-road-third-time-nine-months https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/2038314/... [2] https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/2038314/hong-kong-electric-buses-pulled-road-third-time-nine-months https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/2038314/... [3] https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/2018569/trial-run-five-hong-kong-electric-buses-delayed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/arti... [4] http://www.ejinsight.com/20170801-kmb-electric-bus-runs-into-trouble-on-first-day-of-trial/ http://www.ejinsight.com/20170801-kmb-electric-bus-runs-into...
- melling 7y ago
  Most of those stories are from 2016. Technology improves over time. In 2011 there was a high-speed train crash in China and every questioned HSR in China. Today China had 19,000 miles of track and carries 2 billion passengers a year. It’s not hard to believe that initial electric buses had a few problems.
  - clouddrover 7y ago
    > Most of those stories are from 2016. Here are a couple from 2018 and 2019: https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-electric-buses-20180520-story.html https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-electric-buses-201... https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2019/01/electric-bus-battery-recharge-new-flyer-byd-proterra-beb/577954/ https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2019/01/electric-bus-... > Technology improves over time. This is bus technology, not rocket surgery. The BYD buses in Albuquerque had door malfunctions, cracked and missing welds, brake issues, exposed high voltage cables, etc.: https://www.cabq.gov/mayor/news/mayor-tim-keller-byd-will-be-held-accountable-in-court https://www.cabq.gov/mayor/news/mayor-tim-keller-byd-will-be... This doesn't have anything to do with the technology. It's just bad bus manufacturing.
    - Reason077 7y ago
      ”The BYD buses in Albuquerque had door malfunctions, cracked and missing welds, brake issues, exposed high voltage cables, etc” Much of London’s electric bus fleet uses the BYD battery & drivetrain in combination with an ADL (Alexander Dennis) bus body. These units seem to be reliable and well-regraded.
      - clouddrover 7y ago
        Again, show me some links. Here are the bus inspection reports from Albuquerque. They're not great: https://www.cabq.gov/mayor/build-your-dreams-mechanic-inspection-reports https://www.cabq.gov/mayor/build-your-dreams-mechanic-inspec...

bobthepanda 7y ago

Units in Indiana and Albuquerque, NM have not been performing with the advertised range: https://www.ibj.com/articles/73113-indygos-new-electric-buses-cant-go-the-distance https://www.ibj.com/articles/73113-indygos-new-electric-buse...

Reason077 7y ago
I believe the differences here for London are: - Much milder winter temperatures. Certainly nothing like the -10F experienced in Indiana. - Lower daily mileages. Even though London buses are operated intensively all day long, average speeds are low and a typical bus certainly wouldn’t exceed 200 miles in a day. There is plenty of buffer between what is demanded of the batteries and what they’re capable of.

clouddrover 7y ago

> By all accounts Do you have links to the accounts?

ddeck 7y ago

>they have proven at least as reliable as their diesel counterparts Things may have improved recently, but that certain was not the experience in Hong Kong: "Five Hong Kong electric buses pulled from service in under two weeks due to glitches"[1] "Hong Kong electric buses pulled from the road for third time in nine months"[2] "Trial run of five Hong Kong electric buses delayed indefinitely due to bus stop bell problems"[3] "KMB electric bus runs into trouble on first day of trial"[4] [1] https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/2038314/hong-kong-electric-buses-pulled-road-third-time-nine-months https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/2038314/... [2] https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/2038314/hong-kong-electric-buses-pulled-road-third-time-nine-months https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/2038314/... [3] https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/2018569/trial-run-five-hong-kong-electric-buses-delayed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/arti... [4] http://www.ejinsight.com/20170801-kmb-electric-bus-runs-into-trouble-on-first-day-of-trial/ http://www.ejinsight.com/20170801-kmb-electric-bus-runs-into...

melling 7y ago
Most of those stories are from 2016. Technology improves over time. In 2011 there was a high-speed train crash in China and every questioned HSR in China. Today China had 19,000 miles of track and carries 2 billion passengers a year. It’s not hard to believe that initial electric buses had a few problems.
- clouddrover 7y ago
  > Most of those stories are from 2016. Here are a couple from 2018 and 2019: https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-electric-buses-20180520-story.html https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-electric-buses-201... https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2019/01/electric-bus-battery-recharge-new-flyer-byd-proterra-beb/577954/ https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2019/01/electric-bus-... > Technology improves over time. This is bus technology, not rocket surgery. The BYD buses in Albuquerque had door malfunctions, cracked and missing welds, brake issues, exposed high voltage cables, etc.: https://www.cabq.gov/mayor/news/mayor-tim-keller-byd-will-be-held-accountable-in-court https://www.cabq.gov/mayor/news/mayor-tim-keller-byd-will-be... This doesn't have anything to do with the technology. It's just bad bus manufacturing.
  - Reason077 7y ago
    ”The BYD buses in Albuquerque had door malfunctions, cracked and missing welds, brake issues, exposed high voltage cables, etc” Much of London’s electric bus fleet uses the BYD battery & drivetrain in combination with an ADL (Alexander Dennis) bus body. These units seem to be reliable and well-regraded.
    - clouddrover 7y ago
      Again, show me some links. Here are the bus inspection reports from Albuquerque. They're not great: https://www.cabq.gov/mayor/build-your-dreams-mechanic-inspection-reports https://www.cabq.gov/mayor/build-your-dreams-mechanic-inspec...