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December 17, 2005
Shanghai and New York Introduce Hybrid Busses
Across continents two major cities that represent developing and developed worlds have embraced environment friendly hybrid buses that combine traditional diesel engines with electric power units.
About 825 hybrid buses have been launched in New York that provide 1 mile per gallon better fuel economy relative to regular diesel buses. When one considers that buses travel about 2.5 miles per gallon of fuel it's quite obvious that the single mile improvment in mileage makes a substantial difference.
The Orion VII buses, by DaimlerChrysler combines a Cummins diesel engine with electric motor and batteries placed on the roof of the bus. The impact of New York's initiative will be equivalent to 1500 hybrid cars in New York city.
In the developing world China has proved again that its not far behind when it comes to technology. A flagship self-designed hybrid bus just drove off the China FAW Group Corporation production line, announcing the start of the industrialization of environmentally friendly buses in China.
Just one week prior to the debut of FAW's hybrid bus, 12 hybrid-electric buses, made by Dongfeng Motor Corporation (DFM), were delivered to the Wuhan Public Transport Group.
Hybrid automobiles provide maximum benefit in stop and go traffic making city busses ideal candidates for utilization of this technology. The question still remains when other developing nations will start utilizing hybrid technology to reduce emissions.
Posted by admin at December 17, 2005 07:32 AM