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I was thinking about this recently while at LAX, and all the shuttle buses going from the airport to the local rental car spots or hotels. I think these types
by pedalpete 12y ago
I was thinking about this recently while at LAX, and all the shuttle buses going from the airport to the local rental car spots or hotels.
I think these types of vehicles travel fairly short distances over the day, but are constantly burning fuel, and therefore, their emissions-over-distance is probably quite high. I suspect this is an area that electric vehicles could make a fair sized dent.
The size of a battery to take a city bus all along it's circuit for miles a day must be quite an expense, and possibly even a technical challenge. If a shuttle bus travels 1/4 the distance, and can be swapped out and charged easily, I think that might be a better sell. Plus, a manufacturer could attempt to set-up a fleet close to the airport and service a large number of customers in the private sector.
- ccozan 12y agoMUC ( Munich Airport ) had a pilot until 2006 with hydrogen powered buses [0]. Last time I flew, they still use diesel powered. I believe that if this company makes a good electric bus, the airports will be the first customers. [0] http://www.munich-airport.de/en/company/umwelt/klima/luft/klima1/index.jsp http://www.munich-airport.de/en/company/umwelt/klima/luft/kl...
- mikeash 12y agoGiven what you say, airports seem like a perfect use case for busses driven by overhead wires. Now that I think about it, I'm kind of surprised it hasn't already been done.
- pedalpete 12y agoThe overhead wires get a bit difficult when you consider driving up to hotels, getting the buses out for maintenance, etc. etc. you'd need to build the wire infrastructure, and much of that would be on private property.