Huge Electric Bus Failure

elektra

Platinum Member
Dec 1, 2013
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Temecula California
Yep, it is true. Electric Buses are failing across the whole world. Why. It can only be the battery. It is one thing to power a telephone. And dont get me wrong. That has not been easy, remember the exploding phones. But it is entirely different to power a electric motor that draws high amperage. The heat created is not a problem that is solved.

While Duluth bus drivers and riders have so far enjoyed the city’s new electric buses, the vehicles’ shorter ranges and difficulties with hills have slowed their expansion.

Difficulty with hills? Buses are also used for SHORT HAULS, how is it that Electric Buses are bad for short hauls and hills yet some people are stating that Electric Semi Trucks have overcome the problems that are present in today's electric buses, which carry less weight, less of a load.

electric bus.png

There is so much more in this article. From failing electric chargers, cracked chassis, the need for full time technicians, and the fact that it takes at least 3 electric buses to replace one diesel bus.

Then of course they are using diesel heaters in the buses so that they can save the battery. It seems the high amperage required of a heater requires 60% of the charge!

Then there is the government subsidies! Millions of dollars!

Despite their unreliability, Metro Transit isn’t giving up on electric buses. In late June, they received a $4.2 million federal grant to buy eight more electric buses to run on their local routes.
 
In this story we find out that the range of the buses is much less than was promised. As I have stated, to sell "green", they must lie about how well it works.


But the biggest problem seems to be the battery range. The batteries were only running about 175 miles between charging as opposed to the 275 miles the city had been promised, according to Inside EVs. They were also prone to overheating.
 
In California, it is too hot for electric buses, the same will be true everywhere, with global warming.


Proterra Bus Fire Prompts California Agency to Consider Shelving Electric Bus Fleet​


Electric buses are melting in sun, too expensive to fix, transit official says
 
It is not an islolated incident, everywhere in the world, electric buses are failing.


More than one-third of Foothill Transit’s fleet of electric buses are inoperable, with one bus destroyed and removed from service after it caught fire and others out with stalling issues or awaiting replacement parts, the agency reported.


About 11 of 32 electric buses were down as of Wednesday, July 21
 

The icy temperatures in Berlin are causing problems for the e-buses. These have increasingly caved in to the cold in recent days, even though the batteries were supposed to withstand the cold according to the manufacturer. The buses had to be replaced by diesel buses.

The cold has northern Germany firmly in its grip. The electric buses of the Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG) are also suffering. A whole 23 of them broke down last Monday during the journey and had to be replaced by other buses, often combustion engines. The batteries of the buses, which had previously been charged as usual, simply gave out.
 
This is just funny, like the global warming scientists who got stuck in the antarctic ice attempting to prove the ice is not there. This bus seems to be an example of what could be done and was to be displayed at some sort of Green Energy summit, but atlas, it could not get a charge to make the trip.

A fully-electric coach has found itself stranded in Cornwall after being unable to charge at five different locations across the Duchy.


The Carbon Battle Bus is on a tour of the UK and this week travelled from London to Cornwall but was unable to complete its tour after finding charging points did not work.



It came to Cornwall to tie in with the G7 Summit in Carbis Bay where world leaders have been discussing climate change and the need to reach targets for zero carbon.


Planet Mark, the organisers of the Zero Carbon Tour, successfully travelled from London to the Eden Project, a distance of 263 miles with one recharge, in the electrically-powered Yutong coach.



However, in order to make the return leg through the South West of England the coach needs a recharge.


But with 60 to 70 miles it has found that there are no serviceable chargers left on the network and the five that they attempted to use in Cornwall were unable to charge the bus.
 
While Duluth bus drivers and riders have so far enjoyed the city’s new electric buses, the vehicles’ shorter ranges and difficulties with hills have slowed their expansion.

Difficulty with hills? Buses are also used for SHORT HAULS, how is it that Electric Buses are bad for short hauls and hills yet some people are stating that Electric Semi Trucks have overcome the problems that are present in today's electric buses, which carry less weight, less of a load.

View attachment 583259

There is so much more in this article. From failing electric chargers, cracked chassis, the need for full time technicians, and the fact that it takes at least 3 electric buses to replace one diesel bus.

Then of course they are using diesel heaters in the buses so that they can save the battery. It seems the high amperage required of a heater requires 60% of the charge!

Then there is the government subsidies! Millions of dollars!

Despite their unreliability, Metro Transit isn’t giving up on electric buses. In late June, they received a $4.2 million federal grant to buy eight more electric buses to run on their local routes.
All over the WORLD, you say?
Maybe they didn't do much testing and analysis for their city. Could be some slick tongued salesman sold them a bag of lemons? I don't know. Maybe Duluth has no idea either.

"South Carolina-made Proterra buses were failing on steep hills"

Yep. Sounds like the wrong application.
 
All over the WORLD, you say?
Maybe they didn't do much testing and analysis for their city. Could be some slick tongued salesman sold them a bag of lemons? I don't know. Maybe Duluth has no idea either.

"South Carolina-made Proterra buses were failing on steep hills"

Yep. Sounds like the wrong application.
yes all over the world, I included england and germany, in separate posts
 
What the buses need is a very small nuclear reactor to generate heat to boil water, power a turbine generator and charge the batteries, which will in turn power the motor.

Just like a nuclear submarine. Simple.
 
I can see electric vehicles being practical for commuter use, if the motorist has a charger available at home, and at work. The vehicle only needs to make one trip from home to work at the start of its day, and can sit connected to a charger all day while the owner is at work. At the end of the day, it drives home, and can connect to a charger there, until the next day, when it needs to go back to work again.

A bus needs to be able to run all day, nonstop. A bus that is sitting idle, connected to a charger, is a bus that is not carrying paying passengers anywhere. It's an asset that, at that time, is making no money for its owners. Transit companies really cannot afford to have rolling stock that needs to spend more time, idle, connected to chargers, than it spends running, carrying paying passengers.
 
While Duluth bus drivers and riders have so far enjoyed the city’s new electric buses, the vehicles’ shorter ranges and difficulties with hills have slowed their expansion.

Difficulty with hills? Buses are also used for SHORT HAULS, how is it that Electric Buses are bad for short hauls and hills yet some people are stating that Electric Semi Trucks have overcome the problems that are present in today's electric buses, which carry less weight, less of a load.

View attachment 583259

There is so much more in this article. From failing electric chargers, cracked chassis, the need for full time technicians, and the fact that it takes at least 3 electric buses to replace one diesel bus.

Then of course they are using diesel heaters in the buses so that they can save the battery. It seems the high amperage required of a heater requires 60% of the charge!

Then there is the government subsidies! Millions of dollars!

Despite their unreliability, Metro Transit isn’t giving up on electric buses. In late June, they received a $4.2 million federal grant to buy eight more electric buses to run on their local routes.
BYD-China Junk. Nuff said.
 
I think 3 places is not the world.
My thread contains stories from six cities. You won't read my thread so you sit scratching your ass trolling and flaming lying about the content I provided.

Technically, it is 7 cities if we include the origin of some of the buses which is china.

I could also add australia and south Africa. And many more.

Either way, my op is using 7 locations across the world. A brilliant start to an OP only matched by a few users on these message boards.

From Asia, to Europe, to the USA, was the start. You think those 7 places is all. Try me.
 
I can see electric vehicles being practical for commuter use, if the motorist has a charger available at home, and at work. The vehicle only needs to make one trip from home to work at the start of its day, and can sit connected to a charger all day while the owner is at work. At the end of the day, it drives home, and can connect to a charger there, until the next day, when it needs to go back to work again.

A bus needs to be able to run all day, nonstop. A bus that is sitting idle, connected to a charger, is a bus that is not carrying paying passengers anywhere. It's an asset that, at that time, is making no money for its owners. Transit companies really cannot afford to have rolling stock that needs to spend more time, idle, connected to chargers, than it spends running, carrying paying passengers.
B-B-B-But the environment.
 
"Enter the electric bus. Depending on the “cleanliness” of the electric grid into which they’re plugged, e-buses are much better for the environment. They’re also just straight up nicer to be around: less vibration, less noise, zero exhaust. Plus, in the long term, e-buses have lower operating costs. What with their streamlined electric engines, they’re easier to maintain (at least once maintenance folks accustomed to internal combustion learn to deal with them).

So it makes sense that global e-bus sales increased by 32 percent last year, according to a report from Bloomberg New Energy Finance. “You look across the electrification of cars, trucks—it’s buses that are leading this revolution,” says David Warren, the director of sustainable transportation at bus manufacturer New Flyer."
Enter the electric bus. Depending on the “cleanliness” of the electric grid into which they’re plugged, e-buses are much better for the environment. They’re also just straight up nicer to be around: less vibration, less noise, zero exhaust. Plus, in the long term, e-buses have lower operating costs. What with their streamlined electric engines, they’re easier to maintain (at least once maintenance folks accustomed to internal combustion learn to deal with them."

A 32% increase in one year, 425,000 buses world wide. Doesn't sound like a failure to me. And Mercedes is getting into the business;;

 
Our System is eventually going to have three separate types of buses when all is said and done: Frontier is almost complete in its CNG conversion, Babcock (where I work), fortunately will remain Diesel, and Cold Springs will start its electric conversion this year with 10 New Flyer Xcelsiors. Fortunately for me, I won't be driving them.
I worked for Babcock and Wilcox in Lynchburg and in Cambridge Ontario
 

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