Transit buses programs

One of the applications for hydrogen is for Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) fuel cells. As mentioned earlier, one application is a hydrogen fuelled hybrid fuel cell / ultra-capacitor transit bus program where significant energy efficiencies can be demonstrated. Another commercial application is for fuel cell powered forklifts and other such fleet applications that requires mobile electrical power with the additional environmental benefits this system provides. Other commercial applications being developed by Canadian industry is for remote back-up power such as the telecommunications industry and for portable fuel cell systems. 

The California bus program was mn at Golden Gate Transit District (GGTD) and continued through late 1990 (49). M.A.N. suppHed two European SU 240 coaches for this project, one diesel powered and one methanol powered. DDC provided a GM RTS coach powered by methanol. 

The demonstration, which will run from 2004 to 2008, will include an extensive, multi-year evaluation program, developed in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Energy s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) www.nrel.gov and the University of California-Davis Institute of Transportation Studies www.its.ucdavis.edu. Data will be collected, analyzed, and compared to that of other fuel cell bus programs internationally. NREL will maintain a central repository for this information, which will be made available via the NREL and AC Transit websites. 

Transit bus competitive grant programs funded by ETA in recent years (such as the Bus and Bus Facilities, Clean Fuels, and Transit Investments for Greenhouse Gas and Energy Reduction (TIGGER)) [4] enabled the demonstration and rapid adoption of hybrid and electric drive HEBs/EBs/fuel cell buses (FCBs) with advanced batteries in urban fleets under expansion and renewal. 

BaUard Power Systems, the leader in the manufacture of PEEC stacks, has sold at least fifty 3- to 5-kW units worldwide. BaUard is involved in a program in Canada to demonstrate a 120-kW PEEC stack to power a transit 20-passenger, 9752-kg bus. Eor this demonstration, on-board compressed hydrogen, sufficient for 150-km range, is the fuel. 

The Hydrogen Bus Technology Validation Program in Davis/ Sacramento, California is a multi-district partnership of the City of Davis, Yolo County Transportation District (YCTD), University of California, Davis (UC Davis), UniTrans (Transit authority for the City of Davis and UC Davis), and NRG Tech. 

The first demonstration-type buses having a fuel cell power plant were introduced toward the end of the twentieth eentury. In London, such buses started to operate in suburban eommuter transit soon after 2000. During 2001-2006, a program of the European Commission ealled Clean Urban Transport for Europe was run involving regular use of 27 fuel eell-powered buses in nine European cities. The success aehieved by this initiative led to the introduction of this type of bus transport in other eities of Europe, Asia, and North and South America. 

The DOE National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has also assisted FTA by performing evaluations of advanced technology (AT) HEBs, EBs, and FCBs [7]. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has also facilitated the adoption of green diesel-electric hybrid school and transit buses through its Clean Diesel, Clean Bus, and SmartWay programs as well as recent ARRA awards [8]. 

Research Program. Provides a framework for measuring transit availability and quality of service from the riders perspective. Provides tools for calculating the capacity of bus, ferry, rail and transit services as well as the capacity of stations, terminals, and stops. 

Figure 1.9 UTC Power supplies fuel cell bus powerplants for transit programs in the United States and Europe. The fuel economy of transit buses powered by a UTC Power PureMotion fuel cell system is two times better than a diesel-powered bus. Fuel ceU-powered buses also emit no harmful tailpipe emissions and operate quietly. (Image Courtesy of UTC Power Corporation.)...

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