Battery Buses

In April, we briefly mentioned Tanfield Group’s Smith 16-seat battery operated Edison minibus, on display at the Commercial Vehicle Show 2008. This wasn’t the only so-called zero emissions PSV displayed. There were at least another two and we suspect this Autumn’s Euro Bus Expo 2008 will feature as many again when, for example, trendy Modec may have some news on its plans for a passenger model.

e-buses aren’t new, of course. Even if you discount the trolleybus, battery buses were available before the First World War. They just didn’t work too well. Sadly, that’s more or less been the story of e-buses ever since. Bournemouth Transport flirted with battery buses in 1973 and again from 1979. In spite of a short route carefully constructed for the purpose (the Town Centre Service), each vehicle’s weight and range let it down. 1973 was a good year of e-buses, with Leeds beginning trials and GMPTE’s predecessor SELNEC employing a short ’n stubby battery-electric Seddon on a similarly short-range service. Crosville operated a Leyland National complete with battery trailer at about the same time.

The fact that these experiments weren’t pursued tells you something about the issues battery technology faces. In 1998, Merseytravel began operating low floor Tecnobus Gullivers in Birkenhead and fro 2002 Tecnobus Pantheons in St Helens. Once the chassis geometry on the latter was sorted out, they perform reasonably on their short range routes; the former have proven quite problematic, with diesel Mercedes substituting frequently for long periods.

The times in which we live have sparked a renewed interest in e-bussing. The LEV/Allied Vehicles LoBus, Zeroed’s Minitram (as also used in Stratford-on-Avon in 2003) and Smith’s Edison are but three. We’ve mentioned Modec which intends to add a 10-12 seater to its range of delivery vehicles (as used by Tesco, among others).

But problems remain. The first is range. Most quote 100 miles. This is not nearly enough for your average local bus service or even short range 18-hour day route. And sceptics suggest for 100, read 60. Then there’s capacity. 16 or fewer’s the norm, at present. Thirdly, these vehicles are only sustainable if they are hooked up to totally green electricity. This last fact does rather dent e-buses’ green credentials.

But these issues don’t preclude their use on appropriate specialised services, perhaps on local services in tightly controlled emissions zones where the necessary grants or subsidies may be available. The longer distance services are best left to hybrid.