E-MAIL
Public transport operator Arriva has launched an electric bus trial in the Buckinghamshire town of Milton Keynes, in order to test whether electric powered buses can perform on a par with their diesel counterparts.
Eight electric buses will run across a route between Bletchley and Wolverton over a period of five years, as part of the project, which will assess the technical and commercial viability of running the vehicles. The buses are charged via two wireless electric charge points.
The vehicles are able to run seventeen hours a day, as they can be recharged wirelessly throughout the day. Buses can be parked over an electrical charging plate to refuel, and can replenish around two thirds of the consumed over a fifteen-mile route in around ten minutes. Only two wireless charging points are needed to service all eight buses, which will charge in the time scheduled for driver breaks. Arriva predicts that the vehicles will also have significant benefits for air quality along the route, with a five tonne per year reduction of particulate and noxious tailpipe emissions being achieved.