"Germany to Test Recharging Electric Buses at Wireless Bus Stops"

[Lady Freedom Returns]

By Bob Petz, April 1, 2013
Posted on Ecology Global Network

The city of Mannheim, Germany, is about to undertake a pilot project that just might pave the way to the future for zero-emissions and low-noise public transit – electric buses that charge themselves wirelessly while waiting for passengers to get on and off at bus stops.

The project is built upon Bombardier PRIMOVE inductive technology, which uses charging stations embedded beneath the pavement to transfer electricity to receivers built into the bus frame. Charging stations are activated automatically when a bus is present, and deactivated when a bus leaves the stop.

One advantage of the system is that charging buses en-route eliminates the downtime and additional vehicles that would be required if they were charged off-line. Another is that smaller batteries can be used, thus reducing both cost and weight.

Read Full Story and watch Video @ http://www.ecology.com/2013/04/01/inductive-wireless-electric-bus-stop/

[hunter]

1. Here's the Utah State University Bus:

http://www.usu.edu/ust/index.cfm?article=51862

It's a similar system.

I believe there was a lower tech version of bus stop chargers that used overhead bars, somewhat like conventional electric buses, but with the overhead wires only at the bus stops, not along the entire route.

The difficult part of these schemes is often battery durability, but judging by the proliferation of electric and hybrid cars, maybe the problems have been solved.