ELECTRIC BUSES FOR URBAN TRANSPORTATION: ASSESSMENTS ON COST, INFRASTRUCTURE AND EXPLOITATION

Urban transport is one of the most challenging sectors of the public administration of a metropolitan area. Fuel cost, maintenance, transport capacity, pollution represent only a small amount of the data that is taken into consideration in the decision of purchasing a new fleet of urban buses for public transport. Electrification of the public transport is not a new solution; there is the tram, the trolleybus. Is there going to be a place for the electric bus taking into consideration the purchasing cost of the bus, the battery need to be replaced, the weight of the bus, the charging infrastructure, the limitations of the bus due to the range of no more than 150 (km), battery charging time and road gradient. It is possible that these limitations overcome the benefit of zero local emissions reduced the cost of exploitation, and almost no maintenance of the power-train, all of them being immediate benefits of the electric buses use as a solution in the urban transportation environment.