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Energy Efficient PHEV Transit Bus is Rolling
At 4:35 pm on August 15th, the lead developer of the Fisher Coachworks GTB-40 Plug-In Hybrid Transit Bus, Bruce Emmons, Fisher Coachwork’s co-founder and Chief Technology Officer, backed the bus out of his engineering facility for its inaugural drive. This important milestone caps several years of development, funded in part by grants from the Department of Energy; and sets the wheels in motion for rapid commercialization of the bus by Fisher Coachworks.
The mass transit industry is eager for the GTB-40 bus to quickly reach serial production, as its benefits are expected to be significant. The bus is half the weight of current hybrid buses in the market, and as a result of its energy optimized architecture, it also achieves twice the energy efficiency (fuel economy).
Over the past year, the transit industry has experienced rapid increases in passenger demand as fuel pricing has spiked and drivers more frequently opt to leave their keys home. This plus rising diesel fuel pricing, high maintenance costs, public demand for clean technology, and operating budget pressures leaves transit authorities and fleet operators looking for innovative solutions. At the recent Michigan Public Transit Association annual meeting, Michigan transit authorities were given an early preview of the bus, including video footage of the inaugural drives. Transit authorities view the GTB-40’s energy efficiency, maintenance improvements, and driver/rider amenities to be critically important to their future operational needs.
The initial inaugural drive of the GTB-40 on the afternoon of August 15th, 2008, culminated an intensive week of final component assembly and vehicle monitoring led by Bruce Emmons and his engineering team. Core team members, including co-inventor Leonard Blessing were assembled to witness their collective efforts of more than seven-years of analysis and engineering development.
For the first time, thousands of pounds of Nitronic Stainless Steel, which had entered the facility as flat lifeless sheet-stock, emerged into the late afternoon sunlight, shining from bow to stern. “It was like something right out of the future,” recalled Bruce Emmons. “I’ve seen the vehicle thousands of times, but never like this; it’s truly a bus for the 21st Century.” In the remaining hours of sunlight, the team conducted numerous laps around the facility establishing initial benchmarks for acceleration, suspension compliance, handling, braking, regenerative braking, noise and vibration. With the exception of an overly stiff initial suspension setting, the vehicle performed exceptionally well and displayed the performance parameters expected during the first drive.
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