Ed Wills, Operations Director of Go South Coast, was the final speaker in The Theatre at CBUK, and he too spoke about electric buses – namely, the operator’s experience of running two Optare Solo EVs in Dorset, and imminent plans to run three electric ADL Enviro200s in Salisbury.
The challenges in Dorset included having to run two electric buses in place of one equivalent diesel bus, and a failed engine that took six months to replace. He stressed the importance of manufacturer back-up to make it viable.
The company is looking to adopt more electric buses, which will require more charging infrastructure. Mr Wills cited Go-Ahead London’s experiences at Waterloo, where the grid had to be significantly upgraded. “People won’t be happy if they can’t watch TV after 2200hrs because we’re charging buses,” he said.
Other big concerns are space at the depot, battery range, and battery life – at present, he said, batteries are at 75% efficiency after seven years, which needs to be extended to 12 years to be viable.
There are good opportunities, he added – in particular, regenerative braking technology can improve range thanks to the stop-start nature of buses. “The future is certainly electric,” he said.
