$1m sun-powered bus for city
ANNA VLACH
August 18, 2006 12:15am
Article from: The Advertiser
ADELAIDE City Council is paying nearly $1 million for a solar-powered bus, Lord Mayor Michael Harbison has revealed.
It also will be the world's first pure electric bus, the batteries for which will be recharged from solar panels at the new Franklin St Bus Station, he said.
"Other countries have hybrid electric buses but this is the first fully electric bus," he said.
"Japan has placed a large order for pure electric buses but we will be approximately one year ahead of them.
"We have taken the extra step of making ours solar-powered."
The bus, which will take New Zealand manufacturer designline about eight months to build, is expected to be in service by mid next year, Mr Harbison said.
Running on the council's free Adelaide Connector Buses route between the CBD and North Adelaide, he said it was nearly double the size of the mini buses currently being used.
"It has 25 seats, more standing room and room for wheelchair passengers," he said.
Fitting the bus with seatbelts also was an option but had not yet been considered, he said.
Mr Harbison said the council would most likely order a second solar-powered bus. "It takes one hour to travel the circuit and we run two buses, one clockwise, and one anti-clockwise," he said.
Council had applied to the Federal Government's Solar Cities Program for a $400,000 grant towards the project, Mr Harbison said.
"They have indicated that Adelaide is one of the favoured submissions," he said.
News & Discussion: Adelaide Metro Buses
News & Discussion: Adelaide Metro Buses
how cool is this...
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Nah every city needs its amazing future energy bus to show how progressive they are! Perth has its hydrogen fuel cell one and we need to one-up them will a solar-electric bus which will result in even lower total emission! Its more an add/pr stunt for the city, then a viable public transport method which justifies the high price somewhat...bdm wrote:This is a complete and utter waste of money.
Does the council have any idea how many 'normal' buses it could buy instead of this?
This isn't progress. Progress is spending one million on R&D to get the price down to something reasonable, not pissing it away on an expensive white elephant.JAKJ wrote:Nah every city needs its amazing future energy bus to show how progressive they are! Perth has its hydrogen fuel cell one and we need to one-up them will a solar-electric bus which will result in even lower total emission! Its more an add/pr stunt for the city, then a viable public transport method which justifies the high price somewhat...bdm wrote:This is a complete and utter waste of money.
Does the council have any idea how many 'normal' buses it could buy instead of this?
Common sense, in comparison to a poor definition of "progress", would be to spend the money more efficently.
New busses for the O-Bahn?
Fully imported Scania articulated bus being tested on the track:
http://www.busaustralia.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=16703
Note that it's a left hand drive. How strange, yet mildy interesting.
http://www.busaustralia.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=16703
Note that it's a left hand drive. How strange, yet mildy interesting.
They don't use the air-cons in the older busses due to fears of Legionnaires disease from the cooling towers.bdm wrote:There shouldn't be any O-Bahn buses without aircon (unless they're broken). The first models used on it were 0305 Mercs, and they were quite advanced for their time.
The newer ones are very nice; I wish they'd have built a southern O-Bahn.
The bus models for J1 and J2 which connects from the Adelaide airport all the way to the O-bahn are very very old, and ugly as well , I cannot believe how they are using that for the Airport Bus, what an eye sorebdm wrote:There shouldn't be any O-Bahn buses without aircon (unless they're broken). The first models used on it were 0305 Mercs, and they were quite advanced for their time.
The newer ones are very nice; I wish they'd have built a southern O-Bahn.
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