Bus.com, formerly known as ShareTheBus, aims to eliminate the inefficiencies of renting a bus. This 4 billion dollar industry (according to company research) is highly fragmented, many operators manage ten buses or less, and thus offered a prime opportunity for a new player like Bus.com to step in and introduce a better mouse trap. Expand
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Over two years ago, Tesla open-sourced all its patents for electric vehicles – a surprising announcement in our IP-centric business climate. CEO Elon Musk explained the move as being in line with Tesla’s mission to accelerate the advent of sustainable transport:
“If we’re all in a ship together and the ship has some holes in it, and we’re sort of bailing water out of it, and we have a great design for a bucket, then even if we’re bailing out way better than everyone else, we should probably still share the bucket design.”
We might get access to yet another bucket design thanks to Proterra, a leading manufacturer of all-electric buses. The bus maker announced today that it will be opening its proprietary “on-route fast-charging technology” on a royalty-free basis. Expand
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Proterra, a leading manufacturer of all-electric buses, unveiled this week a new battery pack to power its Catalyst XR bus pictured above. The new pack holds 28 percent more energy which adds up to an impressive 330 kWh of energy capacity.
As of March 2016, Proterra had 63 buses on the roads across 10 states. Now the company says that all current Catalyst XR customers will receive a complimentary upgrade with the new battery pack. Expand
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Transport for London (TfL) and electric vehicle manufacturer BYD announced last week that the city of London is putting in service its firsts long-range all-electric double-decker buses – picture above.
The first 5 BYD all-electric buses will operate on Route 98 on behalf of TfL by Metroline. Expand
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Daimler released its latest report for its bus division this week and confirmed its plan to bring a battery-powered bus to market in 2018 as part of its E-mobility platform.
The German automaker is planing two powertrain additions to its Citaro bus (see above): E-CELL, the battery-powered version, and F-CELL, the hydrogen fuel cell version. Expand
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The China-based electric car and bus manufacturer BYD (Build Your Dreams) announced the delivery of the world’s largest electric bus fleet to the city of Shenzhen in China. Expand
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While Beijing completely shutdown today after issuing its first ever ‘Red Alert’ over smog, the city also announced the opening of an impressive new electric bus charging complex in the Chaoyang district. The station features 25 chargers at 360 kW and 5 chargers at 90 kW, making it one of the most powerful charging station for electric vehicles in the world. Expand
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The city of Sion in Switzerland approved a pilot project with two all-electric and fully autonomous buses which will hit the road as soon as spring 2016. The project could become the first fully autonomous public transportation system in operation.
The buses are being introduced in collaboration with the city of Sion, France-based electric bus manufacturer Navya and self-driving software firm BestMile. Expand
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Quebec government announced today its new plan to accelerate the electrification of transport in the province. The Liberal government says it plans to spend $420 million in the next 5 year. The program is less generous than the previous government’s plan lead by the Parti Québécois who announced a $516 million program before being ousted during the 2014 election. Expand
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The China-based electric car and bus manufacturer BYD (Build Your Dreams) announced today that it won an important request of proposal from Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) for a contract to supply up to 800 electric buses to state transit authorities, agencies, universities, or institutions.
The deal simplifies the procurement process, now any transit agency or public institution in Washington is able to order electric buses from BYD’s selection of 30 to 60 feet battery-powered buses. Expand
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Proterra impresses again with its entirely battery-powered bus: the Catalyst XR. The South Carolina-based company announced today that its 40-foot bus drove 258 miles on a single charge under test conditions at Michelin’s Laurens Proving Grounds (LPG).
It’s without a doubt an impressive feat to power a ~27,500 lbs vehicle for 285 miles on batteries alone… Expand
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