UCI heading toward an eco-friendly bus fleet
After more than a year of steering the Anteater Express’ diesel-fueled buses, driver Raul Lopez-Gallo says he can feel and hear the difference in operating the UC Irvine campus’ zero-emission hydrogen fuel-cell bus.
“It’s smoother ... and quieter,” said Lopez-Gallo, who like all of the campus bus drivers is also a student. “Because it’s powered by an electric motor, the power delivery is smoother compared to an internal combustion engine.”
The vehicle, which can travel more than 200 miles on one 50-kilogram tank of gaseous hydrogen, will be joined by 20 plug-in electric buses later this year, making it possible for UCI to become the first college in the country to convert to an all-electric bus fleet, according to a university release.
The school will stop using its 29 diesel-fueled buses in favor of the new eco-friendly vehicles, which are all expected to arrive at the school by August, said Anteater Express General Manager Tim Rudek.
The entire electric fleet should be in use by September at the latest, he said.
A spokesman with the school’s Advanced Power & Energy Program said he believes the electric buses will have greater capacity, allowing the routes and service to operate the same despite fewer buses.
The college decided after acquiring the hydrogen vehicle to go with the plug-ins. For one thing, the “fuel” cost for the electric vehicles, at 67 cents per mile, would be much lower than for the hydrogen vehicle.
The 20 buses will be charged using UCI’s self-generating microgrid, which includes solar panels.
“Battery electric buses operate on being charged with electricity from the grid, and they have a limited range, but still have approximately 100 miles on a charge of electricity,” said Scott Samuelsen, director of the Advanced Power & Energy Program. “A hydrogen electric bus runs on hydrogen, which is transformed on board to electricity using a fuel cell. Its advantage is a longer range to support longer routes of transit.”
The Anteater shuttle service will enter a lease-to-purchase deal for the electric buses with BYD America, based in Los Angeles, for $15 million to be paid over 12 years.
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For the Record: The original version of this story incorrectly identified BYD America as Build Your Dreams and incorrectly stated that it is a Chinese company.
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The cost of the new buses, being built at BYD’s Lancaster plant, will be covered by a student referendum, passed by undergraduates in the 2012-13 school year, that put into effect a quarterly bus fee that would increase by $8 annually until it reaches $40.
Lower operational cost savings associated with the e-fleet will free up money as well.
In 2016, responses in a student survey regarding Anteater Express services reflected a favorable stance toward electric buses over conventional ones, according to Tracy La, president of the Associated Students of UCI.
“Based on what I’ve seen on social media and the students who talk to us, a lot of them are joining in on supporting this, and we see that it’s important to students,” La said.
The Anteater Express currently has around 100 student drivers, who log 80 hours of training before operating the regular buses and commit at least 13 and a half hours each week to driving.
Rudek said driver training on the electric buses will begin as soon as the vehicles arrive on campus.
“It’s a whole different world driving a diesel bus and then going to an electric bus,” Lopez-Gallo said. “But it’s something that I’m excited to share with co-workers and the whole UCI community.”
Twitter: @AlexandraChan10
