Wheels on the Buses are going round and round …

Whether it is plug-in hybrid school buses in Florida or the Ecotality Hydrogen-Powered Ecobus bus in Arizona, new bus options are emerging all over …  Now, we have news that London’s double-decker buses will start going hybrid with Volvo technology in 2008.On 20 March, Volvo held an event in Brussels where they presented their “internally developed and unique hybrid solution for heavy vehicles such as trucks and buses.” Per Volvo,

“The increasing awareness regarding climates issues and the uncertainty regarding the supply of oil, with resulting increased fuel prices, makes our hybrid technology highly attractive for our customers as well as society as a whole”

The goal of the Volvo hybrid project is to achieve fuel savings of 30% via the I-SAM (integrated Starter, Alternator, Motor) parallel hybrid system. According to GreenCarCongress, this system was developed for the US Air Force in support of a tanker truck with a hybrid drive. 

And, this technology is seen as having a role across many different heavy-vehicle uses –f rom buses to dump trucks.  For construction equipment, the I-SAM might have fuel savings of up to 50%. 

From Volvo’s CEO, in Washington, DC, in January 2007

“The issue of climate changes and uncertainty regarding the supply and pricing of oil makes hybrid drive an extremely attractive technology for our customers,” says Volvo CEO Leif Johansson. “With our solution, we can offer technology that saves fuel and the environment and, consequently, can be good business for society and our customers.”