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Paris suspends electric bus fleet after two fires

lemonde.fr

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Re: Paris suspends electric bus fleet after two fires

#51

Post by rosndo »

sjg007 wrote: post #25
ageitgey wrote: post #15

Don't take this as an indictment of all electric buses. London has over 500 electric buses (out of 9,000). A lot of the buses in my neighborhood are the new electric double-decker ones and it's extremely nice. They are quieter, run smoother, don't polute the air, and have cool features like USB charging at every seat. It is like riding in a Tesla - just an obviously better bus experience. It will just take some time…

This is just great! Now they need electric taxis. Hopefully the end of the black snot!

Live in central London and usually walk everywhere, never experienced or even heard of black snot. Pretty sure it’s only a thing for the tube-travelling demographic.

Re: Paris suspends electric bus fleet after two fires

#52

Post by quesera »

frosted-flakes wrote: post #38
Drunk_Engineer wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The main benefit of trams is that multiple cars can be coupled together.

And comfort. Streetcars on rails are so smooooth, compared to buses where it's always a bumpy ride.

> Streetcars on rails are so smooooth

They should be, at least. San Francisco runs historic (interesting, attractive) cars on the Market Street line, some of which sound and feel like the rails are surfaced with gravel.

Every time I ride one of the orange cars from Milan Italy, I am reminded that the Milanese in the 1930s had bigger things to worry about, and that I should just get over it. :)

Re: Paris suspends electric bus fleet after two fires

#53

Post by toiuoiu289801 »

trmonx wrote: post #48
ageitgey wrote: post #15

Don't take this as an indictment of all electric buses. London has over 500 electric buses (out of 9,000). A lot of the buses in my neighborhood are the new electric double-decker ones and it's extremely nice. They are quieter, run smoother, don't polute the air, and have cool features like USB charging at every seat. It is like riding in a Tesla - just an obviously better bus experience. It will just take some time…

Electric buses are not a new hip thing, we have had electric buses since forever. It's called a trolleybus. At the moment its in every way superior to batteries.

This. It's astonishing that someone would put batteries into these things.

Re: Paris suspends electric bus fleet after two fires

#54

Post by subw00f »

trmonx wrote: post #48
ageitgey wrote: post #15

Don't take this as an indictment of all electric buses. London has over 500 electric buses (out of 9,000). A lot of the buses in my neighborhood are the new electric double-decker ones and it's extremely nice. They are quieter, run smoother, don't polute the air, and have cool features like USB charging at every seat. It is like riding in a Tesla - just an obviously better bus experience. It will just take some time…

Electric buses are not a new hip thing, we have had electric buses since forever. It's called a trolleybus. At the moment its in every way superior to batteries.

I'm not an expert, but I would think creating or changing existing routes for trolleybuses would require setting up overhead wires, which probably need a few things to be in place beforehand. Isn't that just slower/costlier than simply driving on a different street? What about intercity routes? Doesn't sound superior to me on that front.

edit: grammar

Re: Paris suspends electric bus fleet after two fires

#55

Post by monkey_monkey »

trmonx wrote: post #48
ageitgey wrote: post #15

Don't take this as an indictment of all electric buses. London has over 500 electric buses (out of 9,000). A lot of the buses in my neighborhood are the new electric double-decker ones and it's extremely nice. They are quieter, run smoother, don't polute the air, and have cool features like USB charging at every seat. It is like riding in a Tesla - just an obviously better bus experience. It will just take some time…

Electric buses are not a new hip thing, we have had electric buses since forever. It's called a trolleybus. At the moment its in every way superior to batteries.

Don't trolleybuses require overhead wires? Doesn't that mean you would need to retrofit all routes with poles, cables, etc? How do they cope with diversions?

Re: Paris suspends electric bus fleet after two fires

#56

Post by ericd »

throw93232 wrote: post #42
ageitgey wrote: post #15

Don't take this as an indictment of all electric buses. London has over 500 electric buses (out of 9,000). A lot of the buses in my neighborhood are the new electric double-decker ones and it's extremely nice. They are quieter, run smoother, don't polute the air, and have cool features like USB charging at every seat. It is like riding in a Tesla - just an obviously better bus experience. It will just take some time…

>It is like riding in a Tesla Not sure it is an advantage. My city had electric troley buses for many years. People are complaining about fast acceleration. Some bad drivers just slams gas with bus full of standing people.

Seems like some telemetry-based performance bonuses might be in order. You drive smoothly? You get a bonus.

Re: Paris suspends electric bus fleet after two fires

#57

Post by mumblemumble »

trmonx wrote: post #48
ageitgey wrote: post #15

Don't take this as an indictment of all electric buses. London has over 500 electric buses (out of 9,000). A lot of the buses in my neighborhood are the new electric double-decker ones and it's extremely nice. They are quieter, run smoother, don't polute the air, and have cool features like USB charging at every seat. It is like riding in a Tesla - just an obviously better bus experience. It will just take some time…

Electric buses are not a new hip thing, we have had electric buses since forever. It's called a trolleybus. At the moment its in every way superior to batteries.

I can't see it as being superior in every way. In most cities where I've spent significant time with the public transit system, it's relatively common for the buses to need to reroute around things like road construction and street festivals. Also, buses frequently need to pass other buses on the same route that are stopped due to equipment problems or running slowly due to overcrowding. A trolleybus would have a hard time dealing with those sorts of things.

It's also, I would guess, a lot more difficult to get off the ground. With battery powered buses, you just buy however many buses, and throw them on whatever pre-existing route. With a trolleybus, you need to install the overhead wire system before you can get started.

And then, I would imagine the overhead wire system itself becomes a problem. Do you have to worry about transporting oversize loads on or across the same streets? Is it going to become another electrocution hazard for people who need to work above the street? etc.

That's not to say there aren't advantages to trolleybuses, too. Just that the claim that it's "in every way superior to batteries" is an overreach.

Re: Paris suspends electric bus fleet after two fires

#58

Post by saturn_vk »

trmonx wrote: post #48
ageitgey wrote: post #15

Don't take this as an indictment of all electric buses. London has over 500 electric buses (out of 9,000). A lot of the buses in my neighborhood are the new electric double-decker ones and it's extremely nice. They are quieter, run smoother, don't polute the air, and have cool features like USB charging at every seat. It is like riding in a Tesla - just an obviously better bus experience. It will just take some time…

Electric buses are not a new hip thing, we have had electric buses since forever. It's called a trolleybus. At the moment its in every way superior to batteries.

Trolleybus routes require additional costs for maintenance. This might be significant

Re: Paris suspends electric bus fleet after two fires

#59

Post by yakak »

plater wrote: post #33
goodpoint wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even better: trams and light rail. Smoother ride and no particulate from tyres.

Electric wire bus is better than tram as it does not require expensive tracks. It is also much easier to change the route. The tracks also create a lot of noise and vibration that gets into nearby buildings. Tracks are also dangerous for bicycles, and slippery for cars and trams. There might be benefits with trams, but I do not know what.

> There might be benefits with trams, but I do not know what.

Good tram systems don't share the asphalt except at intersections making public transportation a win for the individual which in turn reduces traffic. Buses always suck, that is an important part of their design.

Re: Paris suspends electric bus fleet after two fires

#60

Post by nicbou »

mumblemumble wrote: post #57
trmonx wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Electric buses are not a new hip thing, we have had electric buses since forever. It's called a trolleybus. At the moment its in every way superior to batteries.

I can't see it as being superior in every way. In most cities where I've spent significant time with the public transit system, it's relatively common for the buses to need to reroute around things like road construction and street festivals. Also, buses frequently need to pass other buses on the same route that are stopped due to equipment problems or running slowly due to overcrowding. A trolleybus would have a har…

What about an hybrid solution? Smaller batteries could let trolleybuses venture from their infrastructure as needed, but at a reduced cost.
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