Wolfie00
My dog is an elitist
Premium
join:2005-03-12
| reply to dirtyjeffer
Re: National park in Alaska tests hybrid bus
Well, Toronto can, although most of the money is coming from the feds and the province. There are already a few hundred hybrid buses on the road (about 270 either on the road or on order), and the funding provides for almost 700 hybrids in the first stage of a plan to completely phase out diesels. I see them around all the time.
»www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/347159
Yes, they're considerably more expensive, just like hybrid cars. They cost almost three quarters of a million, as opposed to about half a million for a plain old diesel city bus. London must have gotten itself some truly ancient pollution-belching pieces of shit if they really only paid $50K for the used buses -- not very far-sighted, IMHO, considering that the TTC is eliminating diesels as fast as economically possible. It figures, though; London city council's cheapness verges on the absurd sometimes! 
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"Until he extends his circle of compassion to include all living things, man will not himself find peace" -- Dr. Albert Schweitzer
"A dog is like a child who never grows old ... always there to love and be loved" -- Aaron Katcher
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dirtyjeffer
Beauty
Premium
join:2002-02-21
London, ON
 ·Rogers Hi-Speed
| i might be wrong on the price, however it was less than 50% of what brand new buses would have cost and i think they were only about 5 years old...the funny thing is they all had working air conditioning in them...as the buses were rotated through the fleet (i think there was about 20 of them), the drivers who didn't get one complained that those buses had air conditioning and it wasn't fair that they didn't have air conditioning in their bus...the city said the buses would rotate and everyone would get a "turn"...many of the drivers pissed and moaned for a few more weeks, so the city disconnected the air conditioning in it, so NO ONE could have air conditioning...stupid bus drivers.
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Wolfie00
My dog is an elitist
Premium
join:2005-03-12
edit:
July 22nd, @01:34PM
| I'm sure that you must have got the costs wrong -- FYI, the $200,000 bus in the article is not anything like a city bus -- it's a minibus built on a truck chassis, like a small school bus. A city bus costs upwards of half a million as mentioned before, and a hybrid about 40% to 50% more.
It's nice to see those results from Seattle, which brings to mind the fact that there are big differences in hybrid designs and a lot also depends on how they are driven (their biggest advantages are in congested stop-and-go traffic). TTC results haven't been as good as those in Seattle or the ones from New York City, the latter using the same hybrids as Toronto. Government incentives still remain one of the hybrid's big attractions right now for transit commissions, but the technology continues to improve.
All that said, it's still a disappointment to see a city like London investing in diesel (and trying to save money by buying old obsolete ones, too) when other transit systems are going in the opposite direction. TTC management may leave a lot to be desired in other ways, but at least it has an ambitious hybrid program and is investing in a new generation of electric streetcars.
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"Until he extends his circle of compassion to include all living things, man will not himself find peace" -- Dr. Albert Schweitzer
"A dog is like a child who never grows old ... always there to love and be loved" -- Aaron Katcher
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dirtyjeffer
Beauty
Premium
join:2002-02-21
London, ON
·Rogers Hi-Speed
| said by Wolfie00  :I'm sure that you must have got the costs wrong -- FYI, the $200,000 bus in the article is not anything like a city bus -- it's a minibus built on a truck chassis, like a small school bus. A city bus costs upwards of half a million as mentioned before, and a hybrid about 40% to 50% more. yea, i can't remember the price, but it was significantly lower than "brand new buses"...to be quite honest, the buses were only a few years old (for some reason, 5 years comes to mind), but they looked "brand new" anyway, and were the only air conditioned city buses (although, that didn't last long).
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elwoodblues
join:2006-08-30
Toronto, ON
| reply to Wolfie00
The question I ask (and this is always the question) how much can I possibly save in fuel costs when I am spending 50% more on the vehicle?
Not only that but the buses are on the road for 20 years or more, the batteries won't last that long. Has anyone factored in the battery cost (and disposal cost on top of that).
While I appreciate the whole thing is about the "environment", when does(will? )it get cheaper to be green |
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