Ultracapacitor Buses in China

[dannyman]

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/10/ultracapacitor-electric-buses-china.php

Basically, electric trolley buses without the overhead wires.  Every few miles they must stop for 5-10 minutes, raise their poll, and charge.

I thought the other transit geeks might find this interesting.

-d

[VS]

Well, if this takes off, all the better! There was something remotely similar already, I think in Switzerland... with flywheels? I guess capacitors are really more suited for this...

EDIT: Wow, 200 amps... I wonder how is the charging connection made.

[vilvoh]

I've just seen it. Sounds interesting as the main problem of hybrid vehicles is that batteries technologies are not as developed as they should.

[dannyman]

I wonder if they could/do run on overhead lines in places, and can charge on the go.  That would give more flexibility in routing, and reduced infrastructure requirements.

[KrazyJay]

With the current range and charging times, I expect this system might only be usable on short distance-high capacity lines, like airports and such. When using on longer lines, it basically takes a charging station on every bus stop, quickly rising the cost of investments to be made to an extend where it's just not economical anymore.

[Spike]

Since buses stop often, and power lines or cables are already there in cities, I think this idea has potential. Good to see other options than the rechargeable batteries and fuel cells being evaluated too.