A trolleybus is an electric bus that draws power from dual overhead wires using spring-loaded trolley poles. Two wires, and two trolley poles, are required to complete the electrical circuit. This differs from a tram or streetcar, which normally uses the track as the return path, needing only one wire and one pole. They are also distinct from other kinds of electric buses, which usually rely on batteries. Power is most commonly supplied as 600-volt direct current, but there are exceptions.
An electric vehicle (EV) is a vehicle whose propulsion is powered fully or mostly by electricity. EVs include road and rail vehicles, electric boats and underwater vessels, electric aircraft and electric spacecraft.
A plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) or simply plug-in hybrid is a type of hybrid electric vehicle equipped with a rechargeable battery pack that can be directly replenished via a charging cable plugged into an external electric power source, in addition to charging internally by its on-board internal combustion engine-powered generator. While PHEVs are predominantly passenger cars, there are also plug-in hybrid variants of sports cars, commercial vehicles, vans, utility trucks, buses, trains, motorcycles, mopeds, military vehicles and boats.
The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) uses buses and other vehicles for public transportation. In 2018, the TTC bus system had 159 bus routes carrying over 264 million riders over 6,686 kilometres (4,154 mi) of routes with buses travelling 143 million kilometres in the year. As of 2021, the TTC has 192 bus routes in operation, including 28 night bus routes. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 362,041,400, or about 1,179,700 per weekday as of the third quarter of 2024.
An electric bus is a bus that is propelled using electric motors, as opposed to a conventional internal combustion engine. Electric buses can store the needed electrical energy on board, or be fed mains electricity continuously from an external source such as overhead lines. The majority of buses using on-board energy storage are battery electric buses, where the electric motor obtains energy from an onboard battery pack, although examples of other storage modes do exist, such as the gyrobus that uses flywheel energy storage. When electricity is not stored on board, it is supplied by contact with outside power supplies, for example, via a current collector, or with a ground-level power supply, or through inductive charging.
An electric truck is a battery electric vehicle (BEV) designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work.
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority operates a vast fleet of buses for its Metro Bus and Metro Busway services. As of September 2019, Metro has the third largest bus fleet in North America with 2,320 buses.
Environmental Performance Vehicles (EPV), previously DesignLine Corporation, is a manufacturer of coach, electric and range-extended electric (hybrid) buses. It was founded in Ashburton, New Zealand in 1985. Initially it was a manufacturer of tour coaches. In the 1990s it diversified into conventional transit buses and then added hybrid city buses in the late 1990s. It was acquired by American interests in 2006, and DesignLine Corporation's headquarters was relocated to Charlotte, North Carolina. Following a bankruptcy in 2013, the assets of DesignLine were sold and the company was renamed.
With five different modes of transport, the San Francisco Municipal Railway runs one of the most diverse fleets of vehicles in the United States. Roughly 550 diesel-electric hybrid buses, 300 electric trolleybuses, 250 modern light rail vehicles, 50 historic streetcars and 40 cable cars see active duty.
A battery electric vehicle (BEV), pure electric vehicle, only-electric vehicle, fully electric vehicle or all-electric vehicle is a type of electric vehicle (EV) that uses energy exclusively from an on-board battery. This definition excludes hybrid electric vehicles. BEVs use electric motors and motor controllers instead of internal combustion engines (ICEs) for propulsion. They derive all power from battery packs and thus have no internal combustion engine, fuel cell, or fuel tank. BEVs include – but are not limited to – motorcycles, bicycles, scooters, skateboards, railcars, watercraft, forklifts, buses, trucks, and cars.
A capacitor electric vehicle is a vehicle that uses supercapacitors to store electricity.
Proterra Inc. was an American electric vehicle and powertrain manufacturer based in Burlingame, California. The company designed and manufactured battery electric transit buses, powertrain systems for other heavy-duty vehicle builders and charging systems for fleets of heavy-duty vehicles.
The Seattle trolleybus system forms part of the public transportation network in the city of Seattle, Washington, operated by King County Metro. Originally opened on April 28, 1940, the network consists of 15 routes, with 174 trolleybuses operating on 68 miles (109 km) of two-way parallel overhead lines. As of the third quarter of 2024, the system carries riders on an average of 39,500 trips per weekday, comprising about 18 percent of King County Metro's total daily ridership.
The BYD K series bus are a line of battery electric buses manufactured by the Chinese automaker BYD, powered with its self-developed lithium iron phosphate battery, featuring a typical operating range of 250 kilometres (160 mi) per charge under urban road conditions. It is available in several different nominal lengths, from 7.0 to 13.7 m and also as a 18 m (60 ft) (articulated) bus. The rear axle is powered by two electric traction motors; the battery capacity and motor power of each model varies depending on the nominal length and passenger capacity.
The New Flyer Xcelsior is a line of transit buses available in 35-foot rigid, 40-foot rigid, and 60-foot articulated nominal lengths manufactured by New Flyer Industries since 2008. In addition to the different available lengths, the buses are sold with a variety of propulsion systems: conventional diesel, compressed natural gas (CNG), diesel-electric hybrid, hydrogen fuel cell, overhead electric wire and battery electric. A future autonomous bus variant was announced in January 2021.
As of 2019, King County Metro operates the seventh largest fleet of buses in the United States, with a total of 1,583 buses. The agency's buses traveled a total of 53 million miles (85,000,000 km) and transported over 123 million passengers in 2019.
Link Transit is the public transit authority of Chelan and Douglas counties in the U.S. state of Washington. It operates fixed bus and paratransit services between 17 communities in the Wenatchee–East Wenatchee metropolitan area, including the cities of Chelan, Leavenworth, Waterville and Wenatchee. In 2014, Link Transit carried 987,376 passengers on its 18 bus routes.
The Proterra EcoRide BE35 is a 35 foot (11 m) fast-charge battery electric bus that seats 38 with a total passenger capacity of 60 in its composite low floor body. Foothill Transit was the first transit agency to operate the buses in revenue service, starting in September 2010. It is the first 30 ft (9 m) or larger, heavy-duty all-electric bus ever to complete federally required durability, reliability and safety testing at the Bus Research and Testing Center in Altoona, Pennsylvania. The 12yr/500,000 miles (800,000 km) STURAA test was completed on March 5, 2012.
The ENC Axess is a line of low-floor transit buses available in 35-foot and 40-foot nominal lengths manufactured by ENC in Riverside, California starting from 2003. In addition to the different available lengths, the buses are sold with a variety of prime movers, ranging from conventional diesel, LNG/CNG combustion engines, diesel-electric hybrid and hydrogen fuel cell with a traction motor.
