BETTER PARTSMercedes is testing electric city bus
Stuttgart, 15. November 2017
Cyclists and pedestrians would welcome it for sure: no smelly Diesel buses, more that blow them your exhaust. Although there are more versions, which also rely on natural gas, but the next inevitable step is pure electric city buses. Different trams formulated: without rails. For these vehicles recently subject to a reduced current adopted tax rate, as he already seemed to apply any longer for electric cars. Another plus: The distances of the individual bus routes are fixed in advance, so the range remains predictable. Now the plans of the producers and municipalities to become a reality.
Tram on tyres
Berlin and Hamburg want to obtain together, for example, E-buses: In the capital there was in 2015, a field test with four vehicles of the Polish manufacturer Solaris. In the district of Pinneberg and Hamburg, the Verkehrsbetriebe Hamburg-Holstein (VHH) currently operate four buses of the type Exqui.City of the Dutch manufacturer Van Hool. The 18,6 metre-long articulated buses have space for 120 passengers and can travel approximately 120 miles per charge. Two electric motors, each with 160 kilowatts of power to drive the tram on tires is reminiscent of the vehicle, the battery has a capacity of 215 kilowatt hours, and is mounted on the roof. In the ten minutes duration of the fast charge, the reverse tram is the principle applied: An external Pantograph is lowered on the roof. Also by regenerative braking energy is stored, and finally, buses braking in the city very often.
Mercedes Citaro: Electric from 2018
Very often you can meet in service buses, the Citaro from Mercedes. An electric version of this series is already cold and heat tests. By the end of 2018 to start the series production. Too much in the Details of Mercedes is not still: It speaks of a modular battery pack for a variety of claims, on request, there will be different systems for in-between charges. In view of the camouflaged roof, a Pantograph solution seems possible. The drive is via a rear axle with wheel hub of the middle electric motors. In addition, there should be a thermal management for drive and air conditioning. In the USA, a daughter company presented by Daimler recently a pure electric bus with a range of 160 kilometers.
IT starts at the end of 2019
A competitor had already introduced in 2016 at the IAA commercial vehicle show in Hanover, an electric prototype of its "Lion's City"-city bus series. This vehicle was loaded via a Pantograph. From 2018, a pilot version will be tested in several European cities under real-life conditions, for 2019 also the home city of Munich is in the conversation. By the end of 2019, the series production starts. IT is estimated that the brand does not sell in the year 2030, around 60 per cent of its city buses as a pure electric versions.
Hydrogen-Bus for Toyota
Toyota goes the other way, and showed at this year's Tokyo Motor Show, the new fuel cell bus Sora. The concept vehicle with hydrogen drive are already in 2018 on the market. At the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2020 in Tokyo, by then more than 100 fuel cell buses guests to carry.(rh)