18-23 October 2019

Brussels Expo, Hall 1, stand #178

Belgium

With almost 50 years of experience, Busworld is the oldest and one of the most famous bus and coach exhibition. This exhibition presents the latest developments in the industry and covers three sectors: coach and bus builders, accessories, public transportation and tourism. 

Our IPT Team will be pleased to welcome you.

More information: https://www.busworldeurope.org/

Madrid is starting to combat air pollution: Not only are e-buses more comfortable for the passengers, but they are also locally emission-free. With e-buses, the city sets a good example and demonstrates how to make e-mobility suitable for everyday use thanks to IPT inductive charging.

Since 2017 electric buses have been in operation on the bus route 76. They replaced gas hybrid buses which had been previously used on the line. Of course, here too, the question arises about the range for a purely electric drive. To be able to last through their daily operational time from 6:00 to 24:00, they are equipped with inductive technology. They actively use the principle of opportunity charging: At both termini, the batteries of the buses are charged wirelessly for a few minutes within the given scheduled time buffer. Thus much smaller and cheaper batteries can be used to achieve the desired range. This also optimizes the use of the batteries and the smaller batteries allow more space and payload. The process of inductive charging starts automatically as soon as the bus stops over the charging station. The charging technology is inconspicuously embedded in the road and leaves the cityscape intact so not to cut the blue sky of Madrid.

Line 76 connects Plaza Beata in the southern city center with Villaverde with busses running every 9-15 minutes. Every year, the converted buses will travel 54,000 km, avoiding significant CO² and NO_x emissions thanks to the electric drive, and reducing the cost of fuel through the efficiency of the drive train. Not only has the use of the buses a positive environmental effect, but it also reflects in lower costs.

Since the rollout (2002/2003), the electric buses in Turin have been the largest electric bus fleet in Europe for many years. The vehicles and their wireless charging technology are so successful and easy to use that the Turin public transport company (GTT) is planning on their deployment for many years to come. 200 km per day per bus have accumulated over the years to a unique experience.

The buses, which were originally equipped with lead batteries (63 kWh), were able to achieve the required power requirements only by means of inductive opportunity charging. Charging stations were set up at each end of the bus lines. The regular waiting times according to the timetables are used to load the buses for a few minutes for the next route. Thus the range of the buses can be multiplied.

The technology of cable-free charging solutions is literally a “hidden champion”: built in such a way that one can only recognize its presence on the second or third glance, it allows a bus operation that is clean, quiet, efficient and absolutely competitive to diesel buses. Arguments that have convinced in Turin.