Don’t be surprised to find a bright orange bus rolling around Tel Aviv if you’re there; it’s new and it’s electric! The first of its kind in Israel’s busy Mediterranean city, it won’t be the last. Check out what the bus company Dan has in store.
Eventually Dan will purchase and roll out an additional 200 electric buses in Israel, according to Ha’aretz, mostly because it makes good business sense; let’s not green-coat it.
This will cost the collective at least $113 million over the next few years, and if all goes according to plan, eventually one quarter of the fleet will be electrified.
Although these greener buses cost twice as much as standard diesel buses, and even carry fewer passengers, the company says the expense is worthwhile in the long run.
“For a 12-year usability cycle, it is a better investment than a standard bus, Ha’aretz reports.
“The energy cost per kilometer is a third of the energy cost of a regular bus, while the maintenance expenses are 25 percent lower.”
For now, the bright Orange bus servicing Route number five, is the company’s test pilot. It runs 155 miles on a single charge, which means the driver won’t have to lose his lunch break to give the battery a bit of a re-charge.
And when it does need charging, four or five hours at a Gnrgy electric battery charging station at start and finish does the trick.
Ha’aretz has the rest of the details; check them out; image via Times of Israel
Author: Tafline Laylin
As a tour leader who led “eco-friendly” camping trips throughout North America, Tafline soon realized that she was instead leaving behind a trail of gas fumes, plastic bottles and Pringles. In fact, wherever she traveled – whether it was Viet Nam or South Africa or England – it became clear how inefficiently the mandate to re-think our consumer culture is reaching the general public. Born in Iran, raised in South Africa and the United States, she currently splits her time between Africa and the Middle East. Tafline can be reached at tafline (at) greenprophet (dot) com.
Charlottesville had an electric bus, but it couldn’t get up a hill.