Wirelessly charged electric buses to begin operation in Milton Keynes
Thu 09 January 2014
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A fleet of eight new electric buses which are charged via wireless technology are about to begin operations in Milton Keynes. The developers say that the buses will be able to run all day thanks to a wireless booster charge they receive from plates in the road at the start and end of their route.
The buses are the first of their kind to operate in the UK. They will charge when power transmitted from a primary coil buried in the road is picked up by a secondary coil on the bus. Ten minutes parked over a coil will replenish two thirds of the energy consumed by the bus’s route.
The system uses a process called inductive charging. Electricity passes through wire coils in the road plates, generating a magnetic field. This field induces a voltage across coils in the bus plates and the vehicle's batteries are charged.
The trial is a partnership between: Mitsui subsidiary eFleet Integrated Service Ltd; Milton Keynes Council; Arriva (operator); Wrightbus (manufacturer); Conductix-Wampfler (technology supplier); Western Power Distribution and MBK Arup Sustainable Projects (trial managers).
The data collected by the Milton Keynes trial is intended to demonstrate the economic viability of low-carbon public transport and to kick-start electric bus projects in other towns and cities worldwide.
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