Tulsa Transit Enlists GM Hybrid Bus

[Variance]

Tulsa Transit Enlists GM Hybrid Bus

Note: Not actual bus.

General Motors reported today that Tulsa, Oklahoma has become the 33rd city to invest in their hybrid bus technology. The benefits of the hybrid bus come in the form of increased fuel economy and lower emissions compared to diesel buses. GM also cites lower maintainence costs, faster acceleration and quieter operation as additional pluses.

"This new hybrid bus is a great addition to our fleet,” said Tulsa Transit General Manager Bill Cartwright. “It will serve as a reminder to all of us that we really do have clean air transportation alternatives available. This is important because Tulsa has serious air quality issues related to ozone levels.”

Read "GM Hybrid-Powered Bus Delivered to Tulsa"

[Newbiewar]

i wonder if all the busses say that on the side...

cool... news

[CARBIZ]

...and how many hybrid cars will this bus replace?

[w00t_man]

heck yeah for oklahoma!

[NeonLX]

Now THAT'S a cool application of hybrid powetrains!

[scharmer05]

now this is where hybrid tech can actually pay off, constant stop and go, and driving hundreds of thousands of miles. In a car, it will never pay for itself.

[Justin Bimmer]

Nice! Two american companies working together! I drove buses in college and Gillig is the best... made in Hayward CA and owned by americans! GM and Gillig are a great pair. Too bad GM still doesn't make bus chassis too.

[PurdueGuy]

now this is where hybrid tech can actually pay off, constant stop and go, and driving hundreds of thousands of miles.  In a car, it will never pay for itself.

What about the upcoming Vue Greenline? Not hard to save $1,500 in gas over the life of the vehicle - my calculations show a break-even point at about 115K miles, and gas isn't getting cheaper.

[scharmer05]

What about the upcoming Vue Greenline?  Not hard to save $1,500 in gas over the life of the vehicle - my calculations show a break-even point at about 115K miles, and gas isn't getting cheaper.

Really? It would not be hard to reach that goal, i guess, especially if gas tops 3 again this summer. I stand corrected.

[PurdueGuy]

Really? It would not be hard to reach that goal, i guess, especially if gas tops 3 again this summer.  I stand corrected.

Yeah, I think those calculations were at $2.50/gallon. Of course, if the battery packs prove not to have a long life, then it may not work out so well, but we'll have to see about that. 'Course for that $1,500 you also get another 30 hp, since it uses the 2.4L ecotec instead of the 2.2L. I can understand the cynicism, though - simmilar calculations done for the Prius showed a break-even point somewhere around 200K miles.

Edited April 6, 2006 by PurdueGuy

[scharmer05]

Yeah, I think those calculations were at $2.50/gallon.  Of course, if the battery packs prove not to have a long life, then it may not work out so well, but we'll have to see about that.  'Course for that $1,500 you also get another 30 hp, since it uses the 2.4L ecotec instead of the 2.2L.  I can understand the cynicism, though - simmilar calculations done for the Prius showed a break-even point somewhere around 200K miles.

yeah i was saying if those calcualations are for 2.50 then the deal gets better if gas tops 3

[PurdueGuy]

Yeah. Just for fun, let's play with math again. (mainly because gas jumped to like $2.70-2.80 here recently, and I'm bored and occasionally like to play with math)

2.2L Vue, 4 spd Auto: 22/27 mpg - average used in calcs - 24.5 mpg

2.4L Vue GL, 4 spd Auto: 27/32 mpg - average used in calcs - 29.5 mpg

(2.4L in the Ion uses 87 octane, so we can assume the GL will too - something I forgot to check before. fuel cost per gallon figured as equal)

The premium for the GreenLine has been stated at approx $1,500 and approx $2,000 in different press releases, so we'll play with some differences there, too.

to make my life easier, I threw the calculations into excel.

In case the above picture doesn't show up later on, and/or for a more detailed look at the calculations, click here:

http://spocnorth.com/HowToSite/KnowledgeGu...neGreenline.htm

Edited April 8, 2006 by PurdueGuy