Fleet Of Fuel Cell Buses Planned For 2010 Olympic Winter Games |
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| By Michael d'Estries in Fuel Cells | August 4, 2007 | |
The future of public transportation keeps getting closer and closer everyday.
British Columbia’s transit system has agreed to fork over $44 million for 20 fuel cell-powered buses to be used for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver. Sure, the technology ain’t cheap yet — in fact, if it wasn’t for the Olympics, B.C. citizens would still be waiting. These prices are downright prohibitive. Still, nothing says “proof of concept” like 20 buses on display for the world to see during the Winter Games.
The fuel cell buses will actually be on the road starting in 2008 for an evaluation period. In 2009, they will officially be put into production in the resort town of Whistler; a popular alpine skiing destination. According to the article, the buses are “twice as efficient as internal combustion engines, produce no smog-creating emissions and no greenhouse gas emissions, and are cheaper to run.” Additionally, they will have a range of 500 km, a top speed of 90 km/hour and a life expectancy of 20 years. Not bad. The life expectancy of the vehicle itself is especially impressive. By the end, these buses (we hope) won’t be the only fuel cell vehicles on the road. In fact, if the combustion engine is still the seller it is today by 2030, we’re definitely in trouble.
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mememin69 said,
They only thing hybrid is that it does 3 things; drivable, or you can push it like a baby carriage, or best of all, use it as the poster boy for token envronMETNALism dogma.
Let’s see a hybrid car with power windows and air conditioning. Now there’s faith and committment for ya?