Hypx, (edited )
Hypx avatar

Real world testing has proven that fuel cell buses are cheaper to operate than battery buses

This is based off of real world numbers and testing from LA county that demonstrations that fuel cell buses (FCEB) are actually cheaper to operate than battery buses (BEB).

https://cafcp.org/sites/default/files/07-24-2020-Foothill-ZEB-Update-to-Board.pdf

The conclusion is clear-cut:

34 BEBs 20 FCEBs
Capital Cost - Buses $30,260,000 $25,300,000
Capital Cost - Fueling Infrastructure $10,948,000 $4,000,000
12 Year Fuel Cost $11,839,973 $15,661,340
12 Year PMI Cost $626,453.58 $1,879,361
Mid-life Maintenance Cost $6,800,000 $690,000
$60,474,426 $47,530,700
Cost Savings with FCEB $12,943,726

This is likely to repeat itself in all other experiments of a similar nature. FCEBs are going to be consistently cheaper than BEBs to operate. We can expect a future of FCEBs in the vast majority of situations.

Meanwhile, BEBs are proving themselves to be a nightmare of unreliability and limited capacities. There are an extraordinarily large number of examples of this:

https://www.dailybulletin.com/2021/07/22/with-50-of-its-buses-inoperable-foothill-transit-searches-for-a-way-to-fix-its-fleet/

https://commonwealthmagazine.org/transportation/t-notes-battery-buses-not-ready-for-primetime-yet/

https://whyy.org/articles/phillys-entire-fleet-of-battery-powered-buses-has-been-mia-since-february/

https://www.wrtv.com/news/call-6-investigators/indygo-electric-buses-having-battery-problems-cant-handle-the-cold

https://www.startribune.com/biodiesel-not-electric-buses-may-join-metro-transit-fleet/600029359/

https://www.duluthmonitor.com/2020/09/19/electric-bus-pilot-project-reveals-problems/

Even before the issue of higher costs comes up, the terrible reliability and lack of capabilities have likely already doomed BEBs to oblivion. I think this is a dead technology walking given all of the problems seen so far.

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