Posts from the 'Sustainable Transport' Category
Electric buses coming to Hawaii, New York & Estonia
Cleantechnica, 14 January 2019
Are electric buses news? Not if you live in Shenzhen, China, which has converted its entire fleet of buses — more than 16,000 in all — to electrics. They are also now appearing in lesser numbers on the streets of London, Katowice, Brasilia, and Jerusalem, among many other cities. What is news, though, is that more and more cities are getting involved in the electric bus revolution.
Proterra To Supply Electric Buses To Hawaii And NYC
Last week, Proterra announced Hawaiian tour operator JTB Hawaii has agreed to purchase 3 of its Catalyst E2 electric buses to replace 4 diesel-powered buses in use today. It will also install two 60 kW chargers supplied by Proterra. The company provides tours for more than 1.5 million people throughout the islands each year. During the expected 12 year life span of the new electric buses, more than 8 million pounds of carbon emissions will be eliminated.
Hawaii is a national leader in the transition to renewable energy and reducing carbon emissions. It has a plan to be a net zero society by 2045. "Hawaii has set an example for other states by committing to ambitious clean energy goals, and we're honored to be selected as the first battery-electric bus provider for JTB Hawaii," said Proterra CEO Ryan Popple. "We look forward to working with JTB Hawaii to provide its passengers with clean, quiet, transportation and contribute to the continued preservation Hawaii's natural beauty."
Proterra also announced last week that the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has agreed to add 18 more electric buses to its existing fleet of electrics. They will be used to shuttle passengers between the area's three major airports — JFK, LaGuardi, and Newark.
"This deployment represents one of the largest commitments to zero-emission vehicles of any airport authority in the U.S., and we applaud the Port Authority's goal of converting their entire bus fleet to electric vehicle technology," said Ryan Popple, CEO of Proterra. "We're proud to help New York and New Jersey introduce electric bus technology throughout the Port Authority airport system. Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark Liberty airports are a gateway to our country. Clean, quiet, Proterra electric buses – designed and manufactured in America – will make a wonderful first impression on travelers from all over the world."
The 18 buses will prevent nearly 50 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions from escaping into the local atmosphere during their lifespan and save over 2 million gallons of diesel fuel. The purchase price of the buses will be offset in part by rebates offered through the New York Truck Voucher Incentive Program, which supports Governor Andrew M. Cuomo's ambitious clean energy goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 40% by 2030.
700 Electric Buses For Estonia
Tallinna Linnatranspordi (TLT), the municipal transport company of the Estonian capital Tallinn, plans to switch completely to electric mobility by 2035, which will entail the purchase of up to 700 electric buses. A 10-bus test fleet is expected to begin operating in the city this year as the company explores the best routes and charging options for its new fleet of zero emissions vehicles.
According to Electrive, TLT has signed an agreement with state owned energy supplier Eesti Energia to create the charging infrastructure that will be needed to support that growing electric bus fleet. There is no word on who the manufacturer of the electric buses will be.
Electric Buses Coming To Hawaii, New York City, & Estonia
The World's Most Remote Roads Need More Plugs
Bloomberg December 6 2018. Updated on December 7 2018.
The whole four-hour drive to Coober Pedy, Wiebe Wakker knew the inevitable was coming. Less than 15 miles outside town, a sun-scorched outpost of Australia's Outback that's served as a backdrop for Mad Max movies, the battery of his electric car ran out.
Chasing China: Chile drives Latin America's electric vehicle revolution
Sydney Morning Herald, 10 December 2018
A massive cargo ship docked in the Chilean port of San Antonio at the end of November. It carried it its belly the first 100 electric buses from China that Chileans hope will revolutionise their public transport system.
Norway's plan for for a fleet of electric planes
BBC News, 22 August 2018
By 2040, Norway has promised all of its short-haul flights will be on electric aircraft. It could revolutionise the airline industry.
Growing cities face challenges of keeping the masses moving up, down and across
The Conversation, 4 June 2018
Cities worldwide face the problems and possibilities of "volume": the stacking and moving of people and things within booming central business districts. We see this especially around mass public transport hubs. As cities grow, they also become more vertical. They are expanding underground through rail corridors and above ground into the tall buildings that shape city skylines. Cities are deep as well as wide.
Will Australia turn to EVs to address poor fuel security, or ignore them?
REnew Economy, 7 May 2018
The Australian federal government has announced a long-awaited review of the country's precarious transport fuel security – focusing on liquid fuels such as petrol, diesel and jet fuel. But it is not clear how much the prospects of electric vehicles will be taken into account by the government study into Australia's fuel security, which has less than 50 days reserves, little more than half the recommended level.
Time to take stock of Australia's fuel security
The Sydney Morning Herald, 7 May 2018
As the world's eighth largest energy producer, Australia's fuel supplies have proved to be remarkably reliable and resilient over the last four decades. The last significant disruption was in the 1970s with the OPEC oil crisis. But since then, much has changed both domestically and internationally, requiring a reassessment of Australia's liquid fuel security. Liquid fuel includes petrol, diesel and jet fuel and accounts for 37% of Australia's energy use and 98% of our transport needs.
This Is How Big Oil Will Die
NewCo Shift, 24 May 2017
It's 2025, and 800,000 tons of used high strength steel is coming up for auction. The steel made up the Keystone XL pipeline, finally completed in 2019, two years after the project launched with great fanfare after approval by the Trump administration. The pipeline was built at a cost of about $7 billion, bringing oil from the Canadian tar sands to the US, with a pit stop in the town of Baker, Montana, to pick up US crude from the Bakken formation. At its peak, it carried over 500,000 barrels a day for processing at refineries in Texas and Louisiana.
But in 2025, no one wants the oil.
Cycling receives just 1% of total road funding
The Feed, SBA, 13 April 2018
New research has found that cycling and walking receive a tiny fraction of overall transport infrastructure funding in Australia. Researchers believe this is "unacceptable in a wealthy OECD country".
Federal Parliament Inquiry into cities
On Tuesday 30 May 2017 The Hon Darren Chester MP, Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, asked the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Infrastructure, Transport and Cities, to conduct an Inquiry into the Australian Government's role in the development of cities.
See https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/House/ITC/DevelopmentofCities
and here to read the 165 submissions, including STCWA's: https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/House/ITC/DevelopmentofCities/Submissions