Electric Buses

[Ashy]

Having read some more detail,

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/transport/tfl-london-electric-bus-fire-wimbledon-hill-road-north-woolwich-silvertown-sadiq-khan-b1132039.html

Not that it makes any difference but the bus that burnt down to a smouldering heap of ash in Woolwich was actually in North Woolwich, and it was a hybrid bus.

[JBR]

Having read some more detail,

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/transport/tfl-london-electric-bus-fire-wimbledon-hill-road-north-woolwich-silvertown-sadiq-khan-b1132039.html

Not that it makes any difference but the bus that burnt down to a smouldering heap of ash in Woolwich was actually in North Woolwich, and it was a hybrid bus.

That clarifies it.
So it does contain a large lithium battery.

[Ashy]

Yes, the hybrid buses start from rest in electric mode and start the diesel at about 10mph.  This eliminates the tendency for a diesel to make black smoke under heavy starting load but it's also the heaviest traction load which the battery has to supply and recharge between stops so it quite a hefty component. This is what was left of the double deck bus.

[dextrous63]

If London transport is short of buses while things are being checked out, I hear there are some grounded Boeing  737 Max9's which will probably be ok to run at ground level.  These would have the added advantage of blowing leaves and litter off the roads at the same time.

In fact, with a bit of planning, if they could be run along the same routes as stop oil, or pro-terrorist groups, then they'd be just as effective as any water canons.

[Ashy]

  Yes if only they had been tail jets they could have taken the wings off.

I gather that there are no similar Max9s operating in Europe.

[dextrous63]

Ah.  Good point.  I suppose they might be of use in bungalow areas, or caravan parks.

[dextrous63]

Interesting...

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[JBR]

I'd like to make a prediction.
I predict that within a few years, electric buses will no longer be in use.  Electric cars will struggle on for several more years, but the penny will finally drop that they are not worth it except for very local trips into town, for example.

There are several reasons which, of course, have been stated many times and in many places.
I don't think I need to list them here, but if anyone asks...

[klondike]

And you know what the elites answer will be for the common folk?

I think I might.....

[Ashy]

Heading out for the sunlit uplands no doubt.+

The most practical electric bus is the trolleybus. Now it's a funny thing but the London trolleybuses had a habit of freezing up the final drive in winter so they used to push them onto an inspection pit and light braziers under them. Never heard of one burning to a cinder.

[JBR]

Heading out for the sunlit uplands no doubt.+

The most practical electric bus is the trolleybus. Now it's a funny thing but the London trolleybuses had a habit of freezing up the final drive in winter so they used to push them onto an inspection pit and light braziers under them. Never heard of one burning to a cinder.

I remember trolley buses in Bradford.  As a child, I usually felt sick on motor buses, but never a problem on the trolley buses.
They, of course, were an excellent option and perfectly safe simply because, unlike EVs, did not carry large batteries.  Their power came from above!
If this nonsense about 'nett zero' continues to persist, I think that the new electric buses will soon disappear. 

If they want to 'save the planet', they will probably go back to trolley buses.  The only additional work will be, once again, setting up the trolleys and supporting posts and, of course, the electrical supplies to them.  The practical advantage of that, apart from losing the dangerous batteries, is that once all the routes are provided with the infrastructure, there will be no need to worry about any further necessary work other than routine maintenance.

[dextrous63]

But if one has overhead cables installed, how will members of the LBCDEFG....(delete letters as applicable) community be able to climb up high safely to hang their colourful flags?

[JBR]

But if one has overhead cables installed, how will members of the LBCDEFG....(delete letters as applicable) community be able to climb up high safely to hang their colourful flags?

Well, as far as I'm concerned, we could actually help them by attaching some cables around the poles toward the top, which would supply some additional means of their climbing up.
These, of course, should be connected directly to the electrical supply to the trolleys.

[dextrous63]

Well, as far as I'm concerned, we could actually help them by attaching some cables around the poles toward the top, which would supply some additional means of their climbing up.
These, of course, should be connected directly to the electrical supply to the trolleys.

You may well be an atheist now, but you can't escape your upbringing as a kind and loving Christian.

My no-god be with you, Ah-them. (Not allowed to say Amen any more😉)

[JBR]

You may well be an atheist now, but you can't escape your upbringing as a kind and loving Christian.

My no-god be with you, Ah-them. (Not allowed to say Amen any more😉)

But I'm a kind and loving atheist.  (If Christian, and even Muslim, should be given a capital letter, then why not atheism?)

Perhaps in time, personkind will eventually see through all this unproven nonsense about a creator god who exists under several different names and with apparently different ideals, depending upon who is thinking about him/her/non-gender-specific-being.