Although European cities have a lot of the latest trends in urban mobility, there aren't many hybrid buses on their streets. Volvo thinks that this could be a good moment to introduce hybrid buses, and has recently introduced the 7700 model. Claimed to reduce fuel consumption by 30 percent, Volvo says the bus will pays for itself in 5 to 7 years. It produces 30 percent less CO₂ and 40 to 50 percent fewer particles and nitrogen oxides. Called I-SAM, the hybrid transmission is based on current I-Shift gearboxes mated to a lithium-ion battery that gets recharged by the engine or regenerative braking energy. Such is the power of the electric motor that the 7700 can use a 5-liter diesel engine instead of the standard 9-liters. The engine shuts down when the bus stops and the electric motor can move the bus until it reaches 15 to 20 km/h (10-13 mph), when the diesel engine kicks in. First deliveries are scheduled for 2010. Full press release after the jump.

[Source: Volvo]

There was a bevy of transit officials and politicians assembled Friday at West Brighton's Castleton Depot as the first 15 Orion VII Next Generation Hybrid-Electric buses were officially feted on Staten Island. These are just a few of the 850 strong order on its way to New York. Staten Island will receive 159 of these which will make the gas-saving hybrids a full 51 percent of the fleet. At $514,000 apiece the buses aren't cheap, but officials expect them to require less maintenance as well as save 50,000 gallons of fuel over their 12-year life.

Besides the hybrid technology the buses also boast smarts of another kind and can transmit all sorts of data, from the inside temperature to the number of times the doors are opened. Other features range from small touches like LED bulbs to client conveniences such as a lower floor for easier boarding and a flip out ramp to accommodate wheelchairs or passengers with strollers.

[Source: Staten Island Live]

Volvo has announced plans to launch a new hybrid bus for Europe at the IAA Bus and Truck Show in Hanover, Germany this September. No stranger to building big hybrids, Volvo had been waiting to have a go at a bus until it was more "commercially viable." Now, with many parts based on standard products, the company believes it is approaching a "generational shift" and will be able to save customers up to 30 percent of their fuel cost which would allow them to recover the extra bump in the price tag relatively quickly.

The first hybrid model is a 12 meter (40 foot) low-floor city bus with all the components of its parallel hybrid drivetrain sourced from Volvo. The hybrid uses a 5 liter diesel engine that is smaller than the one normally used in this chassis which allows them to add the extra hybrid bits within the same space. The weight of the hybrid is about the same as the diesel model was but has better weight distribution and so can carry more passengers. Though it's not mentioned in the information from Volvo, there is an articulated model present in the press images (see gallery below) and we suspect that this may be part of their future plans - at least, we hope so. The official press release is after the break.



[Source: Volvo]

The late, great "Body by Fisher" tag is about to begin showing up again, though on totally new and different vehicles than ever before. While the company had previously been a division of General Motors and created every single body for the automaker, it's now focusing on a new and radically different kind of hybrid bus. The Michigan-based company has invented a new stainless steel unibody platform which greatly reduces overall vehicle weight. When combined with a series hybrid drive system using a diesel engine and regenerative braking to charge the batteries, a 300% fuel savings can be realized, according to the company. Fisher Coachworks LLC is led by President and CEO Gregory Fisher, a grandson of one of Fisher Body's foundering members.

Considering the fact that GM's latest 2-Mode hybrid system was originally developed by Allison for bus use, Fisher's intentions to market its technology in the future for other commercial vans and even passenger cars seems distinctly possible.

[Source: MLive.com]

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory has just completed a two-year study of the hybrid buses being operated by Long Beach Transit in southern California. Unlike most transit systems using hybrid buses, Long Beach has been using a system that combines a gasoline engine with a series hybrid system. The ISE ThunderVolt hybrid uses a Ford 6.8L V10 running at constant speed to turn a generator that provides juice to a pair of electric motors. Only the motors drive the wheels. Instead of batteries, Long Beach also chose to equip their hybrid buses with ultracapacitors. The Long Beach bus routes are comprised of mostly low speed operation with many stops per mile making the rapid energy absorption of ultra-caps desirable. NREL looked at the performance of the buses and found that the gas hybrids got 4.3 percent lower fuel efficiency than the conventional diesel buses in the fleet. When the lower energy content of gasoline is factored in, though, the gas hybrid came out 8.5 percent better. Overall efficiency was about a wash for the hybrids. In the study the hybrid buses got 3.35 mpg. The increased use of regenerative braking from the ultra-cap hybrids has cut brake system maintenance by 90 percent although other service intervals were somewhat higher. The city has 62 hybrid buses out of a fleet of 228 currently and has ordered 25 more.

[Source: National Renewable Energy Laboratory, via GreenCarCongress]

In all the time I've been writing for AutoblogGreen I've driven a great many different cars and trucks. Whether it's for ABG, Autoblog or my day job at Green Fuels Forecast, I drive most of these different vehicles to review them on one or more of the sites. From time to time, schedules work out in such a way that I may not have a car available with which to get home from the office. Most of the time I hitch a ride with one of my co-workers. On a couple of occasions my wife or daughter has come to pick me up and drive me home. The one thing that I haven't done - even though I have recommended it to people on this site - is ride the bus.

Last November, the Ann Arbor Transit Authority acquired its first twelve hybrid buses as part of a plan to replace the entire fleet with hybrids over the next three years. The buses are equipped with GM's Two-mode hybrid system and the engines are running on B20 biodiesel. The bus stop is about a block away from my downtown Ann Arbor office and drops me off about 4 blocks from my house. Thanks to my EVDO card I was able to finish two blog posts and answer some email on the thirty minute ride home (that's about twice as long as it takes to drive). The hybrid buses run a lot quieter than the conventional diesel-only buses since the hybrid system can provide power for acceleration reducing the need to rev the engine as much. If I didn't 't have review cars to drive most of the time, I would definitely take this as an option instead of driving my own car to the office. For those times when I have a gap in the schedule like today, I'll definitely be riding the bus.

The 2004 decision by the city of Elk Grove to purchase refurbished buses with gasoline/electric hybrid drivetrains from ISE and Complete Coach Works sure hasn't panned out as well as had been hoped. With the noble intention of being the first U.S. city with an all-hybrid bus fleet, Elk Grove officials purchased 21 of the buses for around $10 million. According to a spokesperson for the city's contract maintenance company, MV Transportation of Fairfield, "Those buses immediately began having problems." After experiencing leaking in the rain, loss of air conditioning, and some buses that completely stopped working, the fire that happened in September of 2007 was the last straw. It was then that the buses (pictured above) were pulled from service and parked behind a grassy knoll.

Although hotly contested by the manufacturers, the city claims there were actually four fires and 25-30 "thermal incidents." Vice President Justin Spragg of ISE Corp contends that there were only three fires and that they were not all related to the ultra-capacitor used in the hybrid design. According to the article in the Sacramento Bee, he also stated that there were far fewer than the 25 "thermal incidents" claimed by the city. President Macy Neshati of Complete Coach Works is quoted as saying, "I think we're aware of a couple of instances that would be properly described as a thermal incident but 'fire' is like flames and evacuation and buses burning to the ground. We certainly haven't had that." The manufacturers place the blame at the feet of the maintenance company while the city appears to have plans to try to recoup their initial $10 million investment from all parties through legal action. For all the details on this refurbished hybrid bus hullabaloo click "read".

[Source: Sacbee]

You probably don't know about China Yuchai but it's a Chinese company that makes light-duty, medium-sized and heavy-duty diesel engines for all kinds of vehicles. It's actually China's leader in diesel engines production. But the news today is not about diesel engines, it's about a hybrid.

For the first time for a Chinese company, China Yuchai has introduced a hybrid engine for urban buses. The system is based on single-axle parallel ISG technology. The complete system is made with an electrically-controlled diesel engine, 4 quadrant motor and control system, power source management system, high-power safety system, powertrain control system and a vehicle communication system. According to Yuchai, the 4-cylinder engine has the same performance as a regular 6-cylinder but reduced fuel consumption (20 percent less).

The system was co-developed by the Yuchai Institute of Engineering and China Jiaotong University in 2005.

Continue reading after the jump for the full press release.

Related:

• Ann Arbor gets its first hybrid transit bus
• New York Metro Transit Authority testing micro-turbine hybrid bus
• ZAP enters into joint venture with China's Youngman for new EVs, hybrids

[Source: China Yuchai]

Look, I know that some of you all going to be mad at me for posting this video because it doesn't include the segment about Lindsay Lohan's rapidly changing hairstyles. I'm sorry to disappoint all of you, but perhaps the information you get about the plug-in hybrid buses that a local school district in Tampa has purchased will cheer you back up. The video says that these two buses are the nations' first two in operation. After charging for six hours, the bus can save 70-100 percent of the gasoline and subsequent emissions, and as much as half from there. Obviously, the driving habits of the bus driver will impact the actual mileage. Perhaps driver training will be helpful. Something tells me that "former aerospace engineer turned bus driver Marion Patterson" will be able to adjust with no problem.

The follow-up report on the buses explains that each unit costs twice as much as a standard bus at $225,000, but they will be equipped with GPS units to track the wheels on the bus, which do in fact go 'round and 'round. Also, maintenance costs will be tallied to see how cost effective the plug-in buses prove to be.

[Source: Hugg, thanks Linton]

At the UITP public transit conference in Helsinki Finland Mercedes Benz has announced plans to introduce a new hybrid version of their Citaro bus later this year. Unlike the GM Two-Mode system now used on several hundred North American buses the new Mercedes configuration is a series hybrid with wheel motors. The articulated buses will use four wheel motors at the center and rear axles that will be powered by roof-mounted lithium ion batteries. The four motors have a combined output of 320kW.

The standard 12L diesel has been replaced by a smaller 4.8L unit which is sufficient to keep the batteries charged since it doesn't have the deal with transient loads of acceleration. The smaller engine cuts about 550kg from the weight of the powertrain and the elimination of the transmission also contributes to a net weight penalty of only 1 tonne for the hybrid bus. The engine in the Citaro will only run when the batteries need charging which will also be supplemented by regenerative braking from the motors.

The hybrid Citaro bus is expected to cut diesel consumption twenty to thirty percent annually. Pilot operation of the series hybrid should start early in 2008 with full production starting in 2009. More information is in the press release after the jump.

[Source: DaimlerChrysler]

The King County Washington transit system was one of the first in the United States to start widely using hybrid buses and they just announced a major expansion of the effort. Since King County got their first hybrid buses over three years ago they have put 214 of them on the road. In the fall of 2006, voters approved a twenty percent expansion of the transit system services and today King County executive Ron Sims announced that they have decided to purchase up to five hundred more articulated buses from New Flyer Industries with the GM-Allison two-mode hybrid system.

Since putting their first hybrid buses into service King County has measured a thirty percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from the hybrids compared to their conventional buses and forty percent better reliability. The first twenty-two buses for the service expansion are expected to arrive next spring with another one hundred in 2009. Over the next five years the additional buses will be purchased to replace older conventional buses in the fleet.

In King County's experience so far the hybrids have gotten over 4mpg compared to about 3mpg for conventional diesel buses and they are expected to last 14-16 years compared to twelve for the non-hybrids. The powertrains could potentially last up to twenty years but the bus itself begins to wear out in the shorter time-frame. So far their are over seven hundred GM hybrid buses on the road in fifty-six cities and they've accumulated over 35 million miles. The press release is after the jump.

[Source: General Motors and King County]

BAE Systems already provides the hybrid electric drive system for DaimlerChrysler's Orion VII buses that are operating in transit fleets around the world. The company has just announced their next-generation system that will be available in 2008 switching to lithium ion batteries. The lithium batteries are using NanoPhosphate electrodes developed by A123Systems. The BAE battery pack is designed to monitor individual cell performance and route around cells that have failed for any reason so that the whole pack can keep operatiing.

[Source: BAE Systems]

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory has been tracking a fleet of hybrid buses operating in Seattle, Washington for the past year and has just issued their final report. The fleet of ten New Flyer buses are equipped with a GM-Allison two-mode hybrid drive-train, similar to the one that will be used late next year on GMT900 SUVs as well as Chrysler and BMW vehicles. The study compared the hybrid buses against standard diesel buses running similar duty cycles. The hybrid buses achieved 27 percent better fuel economy, while the diesels also had 4.5 perent higher maintenance costs. When the fuel and maintenance costs are combined, the hybrids had an operating cost of $1.06 per mile while the diesels were at $1.25 per mile. Emissions testing of a hybrid and diesel bus also showed an advantage for the hybrid.

Related:

• New biodiesel study shows no increase in NOx emissions using B20
• 100,000-mile B20 bus road tests: biodiesel increases operating costs slightly, reduces emissions

[Source: National Renewable Energy Laboratory via GreenCarCongress]

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), which is part of the US Department of Energy, has been monitoring the performance of three types of buses in New York City for the past year and now has some results to share. They looked at buses powered by conventional diesel drive-trains, compressed natural gas and diesel-hybrids built by DaimlerChrysler. The hybrid buses won out by a huge margin. They had 34 percent better fuel efficiency than the diesels and 60-120 percent better than the CNG buses. The average maintenance cost of the hybrid buses was also 5 percent less than the CNG buses.

The Orion VII buses used a series hybrid design where the diesel engine basically powers a generator as needed and the primary motive force comes from the batteries powering the electric motor. The improved efficiency of the hybrid buses would mean savings of 20,000 gallons of diesel fuel per bus over the 12 year service life of a bus. The stop and go driving pattern of an urban bus is the ideal environment for a hybrid allowing lots of opportunity for regenerative braking to provide maximum efficiency.

[Source: The Auto Channel]

There's a lot of value in a penny. At least, there could be if citizens in Broward county, Florida vote tomorrow to approve a one-cent sales tax increase. The revenue from the increase – expected to be $260 million a year – would go towards transportation projects. This includes purchasing about 500 new diesel-electric hybrid buses, starting within the next two years. The hybrids would replace the 260 current diesel buses and expand the fleet to keep up with the city's growing population. The hybrid buses are cleaner than standard buses, but are not cheap at $521,000 a piece. Aside from the buses, money raised from the tax would also be used to synchronize traffic signals and other transportation improvements. While the upfront cost of the buses if high, advocates say the long-term fuel saving will be "substantial". The hybrid buses get 20 miles per gallon, while standard diesel buses get seven to eight.

[Source: Miami Herald / Trenton Daniel]