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Passengers appreciate the silence in electric buses

Thursday, March 8, 2018

ElectriCity and the opportunities for cities and passengers from different user perspectives, was in focus during a recent workshop at Chalmers University of Technology.

Visitors from all over Europe took part in the EBSF 2 - European Bus System of The Future 2 demo event. Researchers Oskar Rexfelt and Pontus Wallgren from Chalmers presented user experiences of indoor bus stops and results from a passengers' perceptions survey."We have studied what passengers and bus drivers think about the buses and bus stops from a user experience and adoption view. We found that the bus drivers appreciated the improved work environment, which they perceived as quieter, safer, smoother, and less tiring", says Pontus Wallgren."The passengers also considered the bus to be silent, smooth, well kept, environmentally better and, last but not least, they appreciated the friendly bus drivers."Another area of research is the heating of the electric buses, where Volvo Buses presented a solution for an improved heating system."Since we can't have diesel heaters in an electric bus, it's necessary to find new solutions", says Pontus Wallgren, senior lecturer at the Department of Industrial and Materials Science at Chalmers."Volvo has developed new methods of heating with an operational energy saving of around 60%."The day ended with a technical tour with bus 55, an electric bus ride to Lindholmen, with a presentation of the indoor bus stop."There are ideas on indoor bus stops, but this is probably the first one built and operating. It is very interesting to see, both how they charge the bus, the environment and thoughts on how to design the bus stop", says Michele Tozzi, UITP, project manager of EBSF 2.