Zoomi Life

Public transportation doesn’t get much in the way of headlines unless it involves sexy “bullet trains” or gripes about long waits for buses.  Well, all-electric buses are now on the market, with two being announced this month.

The first is the EcoRide B25, made by Proterra of Golden, Colorado.  The bus went on a “California Clean Bus Tour” as part of its inaugural run to pimp itself to potential buyers.  I features several things that local transit authorities will find attractive: a 40 mile, all-electric range and a 10-minute recharge time at a fast charging station.

Proterra hopes to capitalize on California’s mandate that 15% of all bus fleets be zero-emissions vehicles by 2011.  The company also has a plug-in hybrid hydrogen fuel cell version that will debut in Burbank in the spring.

The other is a Chinese electric bus, built through a joint venture between FAW Bus & Coach and Tongkun New Energy Technologies.  The bus has an impressive range of 300km (186 miles) per charge and carries 24 passengers.

These impressive babies will be on the road in June in the Jilin Province, with 70 pre-orders already in.  Fast charge time on these LiFePO4 batteries is only 20 minutes.  I hope that FAW keeps the hot pink color scheme from their other bus lines.

Source: 1, 2