Stephan: This report of course has received no attention from U.S. corporate media, but I take it as a big datapoint on what is going to become a major trend: the electrification of commercial vehicles of all kinds. As the article points out most of the long term cost of a commercial bus is in the fuel it burns. So electric buses, which don't burn carbon energy, will be notably cheaper.
What should also be noted is that the technology is Chinese. The Chinese like most of the rest of the world except the U.S., take infrastructure seriously, including commercial transportation networks from planes to trains to buses. While we are burning our money in the bonfire of war, China is building and upgrading infrastructure. And they are going to make billions and billions of dollars outfitting the buses and taxis of the post-carbon world, while the U.S. plays catch-up.
The problem America's mega corporations have is that they are inherently wedded to the past, because the past is when their installed network was built, and they want to protect and prolong that investment.
The world’s first pure electric zero emission double decker bus, designed and built by BYD, is to enter service in October 2015. Credit: DYB
For years, London’s red doubledecker buses have dominated the capital, where nearly 1,000 routes are operated by 8,700 buses, many of them doubledeckers. Although there has been a gradual move to hybrid vehicles, many are still diesel-powered.
This will all change in October, when the world’s first pure electric zero-emission doubledecker bus, designed and built by Chinese automotive manufacturer BYD, will enter service in London.
The electric doubledecker bus represents a technology breakthrough in public transportation, said Isbrand Ho, managing director of BYD Auto Europe.
“In the past, electric vehicle manufacturers have produced electric buses with three batteries – at the vehicle’s front, back and top – but this design would not work with the doubledecker bus. BYD’s advanced technology is able to make the batteries more compact, […]
Hopefully they’ll buy 100,000 of these for domestic use…