

Proterra, an Electric Bus Maker, Aims to Follow the Tesla Model - avance6
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-06-18/proterra-an-electric-bus-maker-aims-to-follow-the-tesla-model#r=hp-ls

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pedalpete
I was thinking about this recently while at LAX, and all the shuttle buses
going from the airport to the local rental car spots or hotels.

I think these types of vehicles travel fairly short distances over the day,
but are constantly burning fuel, and therefore, their emissions-over-distance
is probably quite high. I suspect this is an area that electric vehicles could
make a fair sized dent.

The size of a battery to take a city bus all along it's circuit for miles a
day must be quite an expense, and possibly even a technical challenge. If a
shuttle bus travels 1/4 the distance, and can be swapped out and charged
easily, I think that might be a better sell. Plus, a manufacturer could
attempt to set-up a fleet close to the airport and service a large number of
customers in the private sector.

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mikeash
Given what you say, airports seem like a perfect use case for busses driven by
overhead wires. Now that I think about it, I'm kind of surprised it hasn't
already been done.

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pedalpete
The overhead wires get a bit difficult when you consider driving up to hotels,
getting the buses out for maintenance, etc. etc. you'd need to build the wire
infrastructure, and much of that would be on private property.

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nbarry
_> Micheal Austin, a vice president at BYD America, praises Proterra’s designs
but downplays any rivalry, calling the other company only “a competitor on
some levels.”_

He's right, and this is why Tesla recently opened up its patents for use by
others. Sure, BYD and Proterra do compete for some cities that are ready to
make the investment in electric buses. But both of them are mostly competing
with cities that are likely to stick with the status quo, and their efforts to
market their buses will help both of them by broadening the market.

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lelf
So… that part about 10 minutes. Is it already working?

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fleitz
Dear USA,

Welcome to 1948 where busses run on electricity generated by falling water
(the cheapest in North America) rather than coal... the busses even charge
while they drive...

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trolleybuses_in_Vancouver](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trolleybuses_in_Vancouver)

Your technology is soooo amazing.

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Shivetya
Replace school buses. They put down a ridiculous number of miles per year and
the pollution isn't much good for the riders either. While not all routes
could be covered with electric buses I suspect many could

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toomuchtodo
Whatever routes you can't cover with electricity, you cover with natural gas
or biodiesel.

