Four years ago, a different set of buses had come running down the roads of King County, Washington. That was the year when General Motors (GM) delivered its first 235 buses here. But what makes those buses newsworthy? Well, those buses are hybrid units. Yes, hybrid!
The GM had developed a commercial parallel hybrid system that is a combination of a diesel engine with an electric motor to power for transit buses. The bus is 60 feet long and it was assembled by New Flyer in Winnipeg. It is powered by the system of Allison Electric Drive that uses the technology that was developed by GM’s Powertrain Division.
Its technology combines an 8.9 liter Caterpillar diesel engine with two 100 kilowatts electric motors that can give up to 60 percent fuel economy than ordinary buses. It also emits lesser hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide than traditional diesel-powered buses on the road. More than that, it also lessens particulate emissions such as tiny pieces of soot and dust by 90 percent and nitrogen oxide emissions are lowered by 50 percent.
Also, its capacity to improve fuel economy is remarkable. 235 buses alone could save up to 750,000 gallons of fuel per year compared to the buses that they replaced. In a twelve-year span, the expected total savings will reach up to eight million gallons of fuel. It was also calculated that if all nine of the largest cities of America will replace 13,000 transit buses into this kind of hybrid buses, these cities would save up to 40 million gallons of fuel annually.
One factor that makes these hybrid buses give better fuel economy is that it has the capacity to convert and reuse energy. For example, when the brake pedal is stepped on, the braking energy is converted into electrical energy and is stored in the battery. This electrical energy can then be used for accelerating. Also, with that, the acceleration is increased by almost 50 percent.
To sum up these buses’ details, these have guaranteed low emissions, great fuel economy, smooth and quiet operation, and faster acceleration. I hope that sooner, all the buses in the road will be hybrids so as to help better the worsening situation of our environment. I hope GM had made it right in initiating this kind of vehicle.
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