Could a Vancouver company’s electric bus revolutionize transit systems?
Green Power Motor Company claims long-term savings make it worthwhile
Simon Druker October 7, 2014 6:58 am
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – It has been called a bus combined with a Tesla.
A Vancouver-based company is hoping to take the next step in transit evolution, as it shows off their new all-electric bus today.
www.greenpowermotor.com hopes its in-production electric bus could replace both traditional diesel and the more historic trolly bus.
While the new bus costs around $300,000 more than a traditional diesel, company chair Fraser Atkinson says long-term savings make it worthwhile.
“We have calculated fuel savings of $50,000 to $60,000 routinely for different transit agencies that have asked for the what the difference is between their diesel fuel cost versus the electricity cost for our bus.”
As for replacing the trolly bus, Atkinson says it’s all about flexibility.
“That type of system, while having some economic value, is a fixed system. So to the extent that a transit agency wants to change a route or deploy buses in different ways, if you don’t have that flexibility, then you don’t have a flexible system.”
Original Article: http://www.news1130.com/2014/10/07/could-a-vancouver-companys-electric-bus-revolutionize-transit-systems/
