The UK’s first all-electric bus route
has been launched in Milton Keynes today.
The scheme is designed to test whether or not
electric buses can perform on a par with their diesel counterparts in a
real-world operational environment.
The buses will run for five years in
a carefully monitored demonstration programme, which will objectively assess
their technical and commercial viability.
Eight electric buses will take over
the Route 7 route that even diesel buses find demanding, running 17 hours a
day, seven days a week, with each bus covering over 56,000 miles per year.
However, it is claimed the buses have
a technological advantage to help them meet the rigours of their route –
wireless charging.
Instead of plugging into the mains,
the new buses will be able to recharge their batteries wirelessly during their
working day. They can run a continuous service for 17 hours, as with a diesel bus.
The wireless charging plates are set
into the road and transfer power directly to receiving plates underneath the
bus, using a technique based on the principles of electrical induction.
In 10 minutes, a bus parked over a
charging point can replenish two-thirds of the energy consumed on its 15-mile
route between Wolverton and Bletchley, taking in Central Milton Keynes.
There are just two wireless charging
points to service all eight buses, which will charge in the time scheduled for
driver breaks.
Route 7 buses carry nearly 800,000
passengers each year. This is seen as a good opportunity so to put electric
buses through their paces.
It is further claimed the eight
electric buses will remove approximately five tonnes of particulates and
noxious tailpipe emissions from the city’s streets each year and approximately
270 tonnes of CO2 per year from the atmosphere.
The trial is a collaboration led by
eFleet Integrated Service – an enabling company set up by Mitsui & Co
Europe – and design engineering consultancy Arup.
No mention is made of the impact made
on the nation’s nation grid system, or the power generation system from where
the electricity is sourced – a greenhouse gas generating source of its own.
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