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Thursday, February 24, 2011

The NanoBus: An Overhead Wire-free, Hybrid Diesel/Electric City Bus

 
No overhead wires needed for this electric city bus, there are charging stations at each end of the route, recharging takes 5-10 minutes and will get the bus to the other end of the route (approx 10-15 km). The diesel hybrid option is in place in case of heavy traffic, missed recharging opportunity, or high use of A/C on a hot day that may deplete the electricity before getting to the next recharging station, the bus then switches to diesel powered electricity as opposed to grid powered.

Many companies are realizing the need for more “green” fuels, especially in mass transit, the NanoBus is a good idea because unlike typical “trolley busses” that you would see in San Francisco, the NanoBus concept does not use overhead-wires so a city can have the same non-polluting benefits of the “trolley bus” but with more mobile flexibility, and no unsightly wires, and expensive infrastructure associated with overhead wires.
The disadvantage to the NanoBus could be seen as loss in time recharging, roughly 12 minutes per each bus line (6 minutes average at each end of the line), this would cause a need for more busses. The busses are also going to be more expensive to purchase than traditional diesel busses (however, a cost break can be seen if the life-cycle of the vehicle is factored in; so savings will be over time and not upfront for the NanoBus).
Unlike the Orion VII (hybrid diesel electric bus) seen in some cities today, the NanoBus would have opportunity charging at each end of the line to lessen the frequency of relying on the diesel generated electricity aspect of the vehicle which most HEVs do currently.
The NanoBus is only in a test phase currently, but it is one great example of recent technology aimed at creating a healthier environment for future generations.

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