Now green transport revolution stalls... as city’s electric buses don’t work in the cold
THEY have been hailed as the future of public transport, supposedly not only ‘great for the planet’ but ‘a win for all of us’.
But passengers were left less than impressed when some of the high-tech electric buses serving Scotland’s largest city were brought to a halt by the recent drop in temperature.
The sub-zero conditions caused the batteries in some of First Bus’s Glasgow fleet to drain far more quickly than normal – leaving passengers stranded in freezing conditions.
News of the embarrassing failure comes just months after First Minister John Swinney announced that a further £41.7million was being invested through Transport Scotland’s Scottish Zero Emission Bus Challenge Fund to deliver an extra 252 buses.
Scottish Conservative transport spokesman Sue Webber said: ‘It displays a total lack of common sense if the SNP didn’t consider Scotland’s cold weather when rolling out this fleet of electric buses. Freezing temperatures
‘Passengers left out in the cold’
undoubtedly impact batteries in electric vehicles.
‘If the SNP want to meet their own targets, they need to ensure that the proper infrastructure is in place, so passengers aren’t left out in the cold.’
One commuter claimed the problem was particularly prevalent on buses on Glasgow’s No.3 and M11 routes, which serve the Queen Elizabeth University and Gartnavel Hospitals.
They told The Times: ‘The M11 runs from Clydebank to Gartnavel Hospital and the half-hourly service is a lifeline for patients.
‘The 3 runs from Drumchapel to Govan where it is handy to take another bus to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
‘If the weather is affecting the batteries in these buses it will be affecting other routes in Glasgow and electric buses in other parts of Scotland.’ First Bus boasts on its website that it has 200 electric buses ‘working hard’ around Glasgow to get them closer to Scotland’s climate targets.
It adds: ‘These buses aren’t just great for the planet – they are a win for all of us.’
But the company admitted yesterday it was ‘aware of challenges’ concerning its electric buses ‘when temperatures fall significantly below freezing’.
The company would not reveal how many had been affected, but a spokesman stressed that temperature was ‘one of many factors that impact the range of all electric vehicles, not just buses’.
He said: ‘It depends on a lot of variable factors such as outside temperature, the number of passengers travelling, and the topography of the route.
‘First Bus is currently home to the largest electric vehicle charging depot in the UK and continues to be at the forefront of the changeover to zero emission bus technology.’
The firm said it was working closely with bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis ‘to ensure we are optimising the battery capacity to its full extent and are being agile in our approach when we are faced with such conditions.’ A Transport Scotland spokesman said: ‘While we encourage the uptake of zero-emission technology, bus operators themselves are responsible for setting the specifications for the EV technology that best suits their needs when bidding for public funds to decarbonise their fleets.
‘Zero-emission buses provide significant benefits to communities. In dense urban areas like Glasgow, the reduction of noise and increased air quality for residents are particularly beneficial.’