By P Gosselin
This site here reports that Oslo, Norway’s new electric buses didn’t fare very well during the recent cold. The capital city’s public transport ended up “paralyzed”.
The buses were advertised to have a range of 250 km…but then reality hit!
“Oslo’s brand new fleet of electric buses is not designed for these temperatures – their batteries are failing miserably in the icy cold,” reports aussiedlerbote.de/.
100 million euro fiasco
The city of Oslo took delivery of 183 new electric buses last April with the aim of becoming “emissions-free”. But instead the city has become mobility free. What looked good on paper, didn’t work out well in reality.
“The range of the electric buses decreases drastically in the cold. The batteries run out more quickly,” according to sources. “…with the onset of winter, the weaknesses of the electric vehicles are becoming apparent: although a range of 250 kilometers is actually advertised, the buses sometimes simply break down.”
It’s reported that the contract volume for the buses was 100 million euros.
Cheaper, but doesn’t work
According to Reuters here, last year, Sirin Stav, “Vice-Mayor responsible for environment and transport,” said the buses would “save the city money over the long term” and: “The maintenance is cheaper, it’s also cheaper for the operators of the electric buses.”
“All in all, this is a win-win situation,” Stav added, and so “encouraged other cities to follow Oslo’s example.”
After these recent wintertime performance results, that definitely will be a hard sell.
