I had a chance to check out Greenpower Motor Company’s all electric zero emissions bus at the Canadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA) Fall Conference and Expo held at the Vancouver Convention Centre. They have been in the news in B.C recently when they provided the world’s first double decker all electric bus to the transit authority in Victoria BC.
From a passenger perspective, the fit and finish of the bus on display looks good. There are slight differences to the buses we are used with Translink buses here in the Vancouver area; the seats are a formed plastic with no covering or padding and there was no bike rack on the front of the display bus. There are two spaces for wheelchairs or scooters (or baby buggies too I suppose). There are plenty of hand rails to hold on to while standing and there are ample next stop buttons throughout the bus. The bus is also equipped with multiple (8) security cameras on board. I almost forgot to mention how quiet the bus is. While I was there they had to start up and move the bus and it was pretty much silent. In talking to one of the company representatives this was a big issue for Victoria testing out these busses for the cruise ship industry. If you have several busses waiting dockside for cruise ship passengers all running their engines and air conditioning it can be quite loud. These busses should help address the noise issue as well as the issue of emissions.
From an operators perspective the company says there could be more than $50,000 a year saved in diesel fuel costs and less money needs to be spent on electric bus maintenance.
It will be interesting to see how well all-electric buses are received not only in BC but across the country and the world.
Creativescans 