Actually, buses with electric motors are not such a novelty. After all, their trial versions have already appeared in the USA and Great Britain. But the world's first commercial electric bus appeared not in the West, but in the East - in South Korea. Developed by companies Hyundai Heavy Industries and Hankuk Fiber by order of the city authorities Seoul.
In order to make a bus "green", it is not at all necessary to set up a park on its roof, as did the designer from New York Marco Antonio Castro Cosio (Marco Antonio Castro Cosio). It would be much better to create an electric motor for it, as did Hyundai Heavy Industries and Hankuk Fiber.
And, thanks to their developments, in 2011, the first shuttle buses equipped with electric motors will appear on the streets of Seoul. And already in 2020, according to the mayor's office of this city, there will be about half of those buses that are on city routes.
The introduction of these green buses is part of the Seoul City government's program to move away from internal combustion engines in favor of electric motors. By 2020, in addition to fifty percent of buses, they should also be equipped with ten percent of cars and one percent of trucks driving along the streets of this city.
Well, the electric bus itself, developed by Hyundai Heavy Industries and Hankuk Fiber, has a top speed of 65 kilometers per hour. It can travel up to 85 kilometers on a single charge, and a full charge of lithium-ion batteries itself takes no more than half an hour. In addition, the bus is also equipped with a regenerative braking system. That is, the braking energy can be used when starting the bus.
It should also be mentioned that the body of the bus is not made of metal, but of carbon composite materials. This greatly lightens its weight and makes the case much stronger.