Take A Tour Of GreenPower’s EV350 Electric Bus (VIDEO)
Electric cars are already making inroads with the average consumer, but the public sector would benefit even more from the electrification of vehicles like transit buses. CEO Phillip Oldridge of publicly traded GreenPower*, takes us on a tour of the company’s all-electric bus, called the EV350.
GreenPower wants to disrupt the market with its built-from-the-ground-up flagship electric bus, the EV350, which claims up to 200 miles of range on a single charge. That’s plenty of range to cover all but the longest city bus routes, with seating for 40 passengers and a driver and low maintenance costs that amounts to little more than the price of plugging into an outlet. While charging the twelve 320 kWh battery packs won’t be free, in comparison to the operating costs of a conventional diesel-powered bus, the zero emission EV350 is a literal bargain.
Driving the rear wheels is a pair of Siemens electric motors, while the batteries were supplied by JD Power High Performance Batteries. Different models will come with different size batteries and drivetrains, depending on their purpose, but the batteries are rated to last about 12 years, as long as many conventional diesel buses are in service. Unlike diesel buses, though, the GreenPower EV350 direct drive motors offer a smooth ride, and fuel costs alone can save municipalities $600,000 over the average operating lifespan compared to a diesel bus that is in full operation every day. At over 31,000 pounds, no one would accuse the GreenPower EV350 of being a flyweight, but that’s right in line with conventional diesel-powered buses.
Speaking of those gas guzzlers, the GreenPower EV350 operates in near total silence, as Oldridge demonstrates in the second half of the video above. Besides the addition of a GPS unit, the interior of the GreenPower electric bus is surprisingly… bus-like, which is what you would want and expect from a public transit vehicle. The lack of noise pollution and the benefits of deploying a zero emission transit vehicle will undoubtedly improve city ambiance and air quality.
That’s a win-win-win for the public, and good reason to hope we see more of the GreenPower EV350 in the coming year.
*This post was sponsored by GreenPower
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