How efficient is an electric bus compared to a diesel bus?
More fuel efficient: Diesel school buses can drive at 8.20 miles per gallon, whereas an electric school bus drives at 20.87 miles per diesel gallon equivalent — making them almost 60% more energy efficient.
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The average efficiency of the electric buses equates to approximately 17.5 miles per diesel gallon equivalent (DGE) while the average fuel economy of the CNG buses equates to about 4.5 miles per DGE.
Diesel school buses are already the most fuel-efficient in the industry, due to a higher BTU count compared to other fuels, providing better fuel economy and a longer operating range compared to similar-sized gasoline, propane or compressed natural gas (CNG) engines.
What Are The Disadvantages Of Electric School Buses? The two biggest disadvantages are cost and range. Although an electric bus is likely to save money in the long term, the initial purchase price is considerably higher.
Findings from the evaluation showed battery buses had an overall average efficiency of 2.36 kWh per mile, or 15.9 miles per diesel gallon equivalent (mpdge). The hybrid buses had an average fuel economy of 6.3 mpdge and the diesel buses had a fuel economy of 5.3 mpdge.
Estimated savingsAn e-bus may be 50% more expensive than a standard diesel option, and that's not including the cost of charging stations. Once over that initial speed bump, however, it's a smooth ride to savings.
Overhead conductive charging, also known as pantograph charging, requires physical contact with flow of current between an overhead charger and the onboard battery. Transit buses can be recharged in 5 – 20 minutes at a higher power level (165 – 600 kW).
Additionally, commitments from California and major transit hubs, including New York City and Seattle, to go 100 percent electric with their bus fleets have led to estimates that electric buses will make up one-third of the national fleet by 2045.
Executive buses average 6 miles per gallon, especially when it comes to larger models that carry 45 to 51 passengers. Newer, high-tech models may get up to 10 to 12 miles per gallon. The larger the bus, the lower the average mileage.
“On average, most fleets are getting around 9.45 miles per gallon, which is a one to three mile per gallon improvement over older diesel engines. This savings is particularly impactful when you look at special-needs buses that idle a lot.