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COVERSTORY INTERLINE BCI E-BUS FALLING INTO LINE On course to be the second largest e-bus operator in NSW, Interline’s initial 10-vehicle fleet in 2021 kicked off with its first BCI Citirider E delivered for south-west Sydney, recently. Owner Joe Oliveri took some time out for ABC magazine to talk all things electric bus and where the industry should go from here – and why. WORDS FABIAN COTTER IMAGES COURTESY BCI + BUSNSW 34 ABC February 2021 busnews.com.au
If you’ve been around the traps long enough and have the appropriately thinning grey hairs to prove it then you might recall a series of mid- ’80s automotive lubricant television commercials with the catchy catchcry “Oils ain’t oils”. The cheeky Capone-vibe message delivery not only ensured it remains deeply rooted in the nostalgic memory banks of the kid viewers of the day, but underscored the simple and logical warning that not everything is as it seems, or that not all products and services – in that case car oil – performed equally as many might foolishly hope for. ‘You get what you pay for’? Well, kind of something like that. Applicable in all kinds of realms, the highlighting of such difference is equally at play in the rapidly emerging world of zero-emission buses (ZEBs) and sundry ancillary technologies such as batteries, charging infrastructure, air-conditioning system optimisation or hydrogen city bus applicability. Even how effectively drivers are trained to drive them optimally. This means that discerning choice of all components could prove many an operator’s greatest (i.e. cost prohibitive) challenge. And it is these types of insights and erudite bus-purchasing advice that can be gleaned when talking to long-established local bus operators like Interline’s Jo Oliveri. INITIAL RESULTS “The minister announced that he wants 8,000 buses to be electrified by 2030 – but 90 per cent of the operators wouldn’t have a clue what they were buying, nor know what they are trying to buy,” Oliveri stated. “I don’t think they’ve researched it enough and if they did their research it must be different to mine,” he added curiously. “I was really into hydrogen, but then I started looking into it – and it’s not about the cost of the bus and the cell; it’s about the continuation and the price of hydrogen and how to make hydrogen. “If you get hydrogen off a by-product of something else and it’s cheap enough, hydrogen is a way to go for distance. But in saying that, this 12.5-metre BCI we are testing out on all the shifts we are doing has so far already done a double shift and it came back with 30 per cent power! “Other people have said ‘well, how many kilometres [distance] does it do?’ Well, sure, the more kilometres a bus does means the more energy it needs to do it because it’s actually pushing the motor, but I don’t care how many kilometres it does because, for me, my diesels are for two shifts, which means the driver changes over at Macquarie Fields or they do a quick changeover in the yard at Leppington. “The bus is out for 16–18 hours, so I don’t care how many kilometres it does because I know the shifts call for x-amount of hours. And that’s all I have got to worry about. “I have to make sure it goes out, does the second shift, and has enough power to get back to the yard. And so far the one we tried, the BCI with 422kW batteries, it went out at 6.00am, it came back just before the second half for about an hour, and it went out again and came back at 10.30pm – that’s close on to 17 hours, right?” Oliveri analysed. “So that’s it, that’s my basic game. Now, if I was doing Nightrider I would expect the bus to do three shifts because I know the modern diesels can do that, but two shifts does me, and so far it’s showing promise.” DRIVER TRAINING “Only this morning I was out showing the driver how to drive it because everyone – including the Chinese and the Aussies [manufacturers] – don’t know how to conserve [battery] energy; they are expecting the driver training to help do all this, depending on [the driver] putting their foot on the brake or taking it off for regeneration, depending on how you want to configure the bus,” he explained. “I did an experiment and I put in a driver that I told - but didn’t harp on about - conserving energy to ‘keep it in the green’ and that way busnews.com.au February 2021 ABC 35
Page 1: AUSTRALASIAN BUS & COACH ABC KINETI
Page 4 and 5: contents ISSUE 402 FEBRUARY 2021 08
Page 6 and 7: IGNITION FABIAN COTTER One step for
Page 8 and 9: NEWS GREYHOUND RESOURCES SOLD TO SK
Page 10 and 11: NEWS CUSTOM-DENNING ELEMENT E-BUS N
Page 12 and 13: NEWS system customisable to specifi
Page 14 and 15: NEWS CLARKS LOGAN CITY LAUNCHES REC
Page 16 and 17: NEWS VOLGREN ANNOUNCES NEW HEAD OF
Page 18: NEWS THE WOT!?! BCSA HANDS OVER BLK
Page 21 and 22: usnews.com.au February 2021 ABC 21
Page 25 and 26: and we’re proud to be the first o
Page 27 and 28: square metres in the Brussels Expo.
Page 29 and 30: The beauty of the Audace is you get
Page 31 and 32: Systematic Perfection! The electric
Page 33: INNOVATION - SUSTAINABILITY - SAFET
Page 37 and 38: there is virtually no noise at all
Page 39 and 40: AC VS DC “Everyone [operators] se
Page 41 and 42: YOU'VE TRIED THE REST Bus Comfort 4
Page 45 and 46: SLEEPBUS.ORG MANTRA “Sleep change
Page 47 and 48: ABC-FP-5196630-TS-402
Page 49 and 50: LED headlamps, an electronic stabil
Page 51 and 52: changes. You can just put it into d
Page 53 and 54: Specs MAKE/MODEL: Fuso Rosa SEATS:
Page 55 and 56: AUSTRALIA’S #1 NEW AND USED BUS M
Page 57 and 58: WANT TO ADVERTISE? CALL 03 9567 415
Page 59 and 60: WANT TO ADVERTISE? CALL 03 9567 415
Page 61 and 62: Comfort, convenience and capacity T
Page 63 and 64: 4% SA 2% 12% 21% QLD Volgren 29 Yut
Page 65 and 66: TRANSMISSION A: Automatic M: Manual
Page 67 and 68: V12 - 12.3 METRES WITH UP TO 57+ SE

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