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> diesel buses Ah, we love the electric ones here in sweden! Of course they have to stop ~20 minutes to recharge instead of just turning back. And of course

> diesel buses Ah, we love the electric ones here in sweden! Of course they have to stop ~20 minutes to recharge instead of just turning back. And of course when it's cold (which surprisingly does happen in sweden) the batteries can't hold enough charge to do 1 run, so they can't run.

alwayslikethis 3y ago
If one bus means 10 cars and motorcycles stay off the road, the extra loud noise is probably worth it. IMO electric buses are a low priority task for most cities.
Reason077 3y ago
> "Of course they have to stop ~20 minutes to recharge instead of just turning back." London's electric buses (mostly UK-built bus bodies with BYD drivetrains and batteries) have large enough battery packs for them to run all day without charging. They get recharged overnight, when electricity is cheap, while parked in the bus depots. As of March, London had 785 fully electric buses in service, out of a total fleet of about 9000. The fleet is planned to be fully electric by 2034, which could be brought forward subject to additional funding. It will be interesting to see if they stick with the overnight-charging model or whether charging while in service will make sense on some routes.
- nicoburns 3y ago
  London's hybrid buses are also pretty good for noise (not as good as electric, but a lot better than direct diesel propulsion). No loud bursts of noise when accelerating.
- bombolo 3y ago
  London's busses are very small. Do you have a source that they run the entire day with no charging?
  - Reason077 3y ago
    > "London's busses are very small" Small?! The majority of London buses are double-deckers, around 11 meters in length with capacities up to 87 passengers (combined seating + standing). Perhaps not the world's largest buses, but I certainly wouldn't call them small! > "Do you have a source that they run the entire day with no charging?" Here's an old press release from when they were first introduced: "The buses are equipped with BYD-designed and built Iron-Phosphate batteries, delivering 345 kWh of power ... The batteries can power the bus for over 24 hours and up to 190 miles of typical urban driving on the service routes with a single daily recharging requiring only four hours." https://en.byd.com/news/transport-for-london-launches-the-first-all-electric-long-range-double-decker-bus-into-service/ https://en.byd.com/news/transport-for-london-launches-the-fi... (The reality is that on many central London bus routes, there just isn't anywhere where they could stop for an extended period for recharging. But as more electric buses expand to suburban routes, maybe that will be less of an issue)
    - bombolo 3y ago
      They are small. Most busses here have 2-3 segments. The maker's estimation and the real life often differ quite much. Is there something about real times?
      - Reason077 3y ago
        London can’t use multi-segment articulated buses (“bendy buses”) due to street size and layout constraints. Basically they’re too long to fit in many places they need to go. They did actually experiment with them on a few routes some years ago, but they were withdrawn after a year or two. But that doesn’t make London buses small, because they’re double-deckers. Instead of increasing the length, they increase the height. In any case, bus size is a red herring when it comes to electrification. A larger bus simply gives you more space to install larger batteries, provided you don’t exceed class/axle weight limits etc. Being longer and having more axles, an articulated bus should be even easier to electrify than a double decker! London has been operating electric buses for almost 10 years now and has a fleet of nearly 800 units. If they weren’t performing to expectations, I’m sure we would have heard about it and they wouldn’t keep buying them!

alwayslikethis 3y ago

If one bus means 10 cars and motorcycles stay off the road, the extra loud noise is probably worth it. IMO electric buses are a low priority task for most cities.

Reason077 3y ago

> "Of course they have to stop ~20 minutes to recharge instead of just turning back." London's electric buses (mostly UK-built bus bodies with BYD drivetrains and batteries) have large enough battery packs for them to run all day without charging. They get recharged overnight, when electricity is cheap, while parked in the bus depots. As of March, London had 785 fully electric buses in service, out of a total fleet of about 9000. The fleet is planned to be fully electric by 2034, which could be brought forward subject to additional funding. It will be interesting to see if they stick with the overnight-charging model or whether charging while in service will make sense on some routes.

nicoburns 3y ago
London's hybrid buses are also pretty good for noise (not as good as electric, but a lot better than direct diesel propulsion). No loud bursts of noise when accelerating.
bombolo 3y ago
London's busses are very small. Do you have a source that they run the entire day with no charging?
- Reason077 3y ago
  > "London's busses are very small" Small?! The majority of London buses are double-deckers, around 11 meters in length with capacities up to 87 passengers (combined seating + standing). Perhaps not the world's largest buses, but I certainly wouldn't call them small! > "Do you have a source that they run the entire day with no charging?" Here's an old press release from when they were first introduced: "The buses are equipped with BYD-designed and built Iron-Phosphate batteries, delivering 345 kWh of power ... The batteries can power the bus for over 24 hours and up to 190 miles of typical urban driving on the service routes with a single daily recharging requiring only four hours." https://en.byd.com/news/transport-for-london-launches-the-first-all-electric-long-range-double-decker-bus-into-service/ https://en.byd.com/news/transport-for-london-launches-the-fi... (The reality is that on many central London bus routes, there just isn't anywhere where they could stop for an extended period for recharging. But as more electric buses expand to suburban routes, maybe that will be less of an issue)
  - bombolo 3y ago
    They are small. Most busses here have 2-3 segments. The maker's estimation and the real life often differ quite much. Is there something about real times?
    - Reason077 3y ago
      London can’t use multi-segment articulated buses (“bendy buses”) due to street size and layout constraints. Basically they’re too long to fit in many places they need to go. They did actually experiment with them on a few routes some years ago, but they were withdrawn after a year or two. But that doesn’t make London buses small, because they’re double-deckers. Instead of increasing the length, they increase the height. In any case, bus size is a red herring when it comes to electrification. A larger bus simply gives you more space to install larger batteries, provided you don’t exceed class/axle weight limits etc. Being longer and having more axles, an articulated bus should be even easier to electrify than a double decker! London has been operating electric buses for almost 10 years now and has a fleet of nearly 800 units. If they weren’t performing to expectations, I’m sure we would have heard about it and they wouldn’t keep buying them!