The elusive electric bus

[bjohnmasters]

So, this appeared in the local Tampa paper. Apparently they had one of these on display downtown the other day. Supposedly they are about to come out with one that will go 250-350 miles on a 3.5 hour charge. This is a 40 footer.

Proterra's Story:
In April 2015, the California Energy Commission awarded a $3 million grant to Proterra to fund the design, development, and construction of a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility for its zero-emission, all-electric transit buses in California's San Gabriel Valley.

By June 2015, Proterra had raised an additional $55 million from private investors and received purchase orders from 15 local transit authorities for the electric buses. As of January 2017, the company had 36 customers and 377 orders. During the term of the Energy Commission grant, Proterra is estimated to manufacture and sell 424 buses, reducing more than 900 million pounds of carbon dioxide.

Proterra is a world leader in designing and manufacturing zero-emission, heavy-duty vehicles. Its Fast Charge bus features a battery pack that recharges in less than 10 minutes with an approximate range of up to 50 miles between charges. A newly introduced battery pack has a range of 251 to 350 miles per charge, with recharge taking 3.5 to 5 hours.

[Stuart W]

Good to read your positive article after reading this negative one last week, will get there
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/l...520-story.html

["007"]

Both very interesting especially for the RV world but second thread the real world and things not really thought out, as to where we are headed, I also feel like having a good laugh.

[dennis45]

Originally Posted by "007"

Both very interesting especially for the RV world but second thread the real world and things not really thought out, as to where we are headed, I also feel like having a good laugh.

Great idea, especially the government grant portion. Downside might be when the government pulls their money out, the company goes bust and your left with a big pile of dead batteries.

[nothermark]

Most of the EV industry is dependent on us taxpayers filling the gap.



The real problem is energy density per pound of fuel vs a battery. The gap is huge. That makes long distance in these things an issue. Even in short range they are finding out that they don't get what they think they will out of regenerative braking.