Good To Know

Things that impact the range of an electric bus

• The number and size of the batteries. Our bus contains four batteries and has a range of 125 miles. If we added one more battery, we woule be able to increase that range to 155 miles.

• Air brakes vs. hydraulic brakes - air brakes require the use of an air compressor, and the air compressor uses up some of the electricity used to reach the maximum range.

• Driving habits - much like any fuel operated vehicle, taking off too fast will not be as economical, and in the case of the electric bus, it will use more energy and reduce the range.

• Regenerative breaking - when used will put energy back in the batteries with the ability to increase the maximum range. Once a bus driver gets their timing down to reap the full benefits of this feature they will see the state of charge increase.

• Air conditioning and heating - if an electric bus is equiped with air conditioning, it will impact the range of the bus, as will electric heaters.

Did you know?

• The electric bus has a sound generator. When it is driving down the road at speeds lowere than 20 mph it will play chimes. The students have started calling it the ice cream truck.

• The electric bus is only charged at night, during low demand and can fully charge with a level II AC charger(19.2 kw) and be ready for the next day.

• The electric bus can be used to put power back on the grid, or even help power up a building during a power outage.

• The comfort of a smoother ride can somewhat be illustrated with the video below. Next research - what health impacts do continuous vibrations have on a human body.