One of my readers sent me the picture above of a new Citybus thats currently on the road. What caught my attention was the fact it had solar panels on the roof and the message “735w solar cells” on the side. I thought Citybus might finally be getting some new hybrid buses, that is buses that run on fossil fuel and clean electric power. So I gave Citybus a call to find out if that was the case and it sadly turns out it wasn’t.
The bus pictured above is currently being weather tested for the local market and is by the Irish company Wright. It’s not a hybrid but a regular diesel vehicle. According to the person I spoke to, the solar panels are just there to recharge the bus batteries and is not for any energy saving purposes. Oh well that was a downer. I was hoping this was the first step in eradicating the horribly polluting buses currently on the roads. Looks like that’s not going to happen.
7 replies on “Citybus Not Getting Hybrids”
At least they are new
Well technically they are still saving some energy.
But as far as I know the energy produced by current solar panels is way too little to run a vehicle.
Wow! That’s my photo.
I’m curious who send you the picture.
That Crown Vic though.
The Car companies should also take into consideration to introduce hybrid cars, it would mean less frequent visits to the gas station as well as a cleaner Kuwait.
Most places that adopt hybrids do so because of government intervention in tax breaks and such.
Great, they removed the alternator?
735w at full capacity is ONLY 62 or 30 amps (12/24v), barely enough to keep up with a bus’ needs.
Nice gimmick though, just wait until someone throws an egg or a stone.
#ouch.