ABC #402

COVERSTORY
INTERLINE BCI E-BUS
INTERLINE’S FLEET
Though the BCI is the first electric bus for Sydney’s south west region – run by Region 2 operator Interline – another nine Yutong e-buses are due
throughout 2021, and possibly a Custom-Denning Element to come, sources reveal exclusively to ABC magazine.
The ‘quieter and cleaner’ bus journeys in Sydney’s south west will see Interline’s new electric BCI Citirider EV bus initially operate on routes 859
(Carnes Hill to Edmondson Park) and 858 (Oran Park Town Centre to Leppington), Transport for NSW confirmed.
The BCI e-bus is capable of running for up to seven hours on a full charge, TfNSW explained, while (at the time of print) the first two of the
remaining nine Yutong electric buses have been delivered (presently at Wales) with the remainder due to Interline by the end of the year, we hear.
ABC magazine video footage of the new BCI bus in action around Leppington Station gives the electric-bus uninitiated some sense of how quiet
this BCI e-bus is in action. Surprisingly, a BCI spokesperson confirms that, for safety, that sound is an external artificial noise to alert pedestrians, which
cuts out at 30km/h.
NSW minister for transport and roads Andrew Constance says it is one of more than 50 new electric buses being delivered across Sydney this year.
“Five electric buses have already been trialled in Sydney’s inner west and now it is time for customers in the south-west to start reaping the benefits
of this amazing technology,” Minister Constance stated.
“We are one step closer to creating a greener, cleaner and healthier future for the people of NSW, with inner-west customers and staff already
giving us positive feedback about the quieter journeys.
“The NSW government is committed to transitioning its 8,000 diesel buses to zero-emission technology and I have previously set Transport for NSW
the goal of electrifying the fleet by 2030.”
All the drivers
who have driven
it have given it a
big tick so far.
it in for about $230,000.
“And then the infrastructure inside
the yard, the chargers are worth
about $55,000 each. To get that
fixed for five chargers was $29 grand.
The cabling alone was $22,000.
So, a switchboard to get the
2,000 amps in was $28,000. And
for every two buses you need one
charger.
“Five chargers means they are
‘double guns’; you can plug two
buses in, and they are only 120kW
chargers and that’s all you really
need. You can go up to 180kW
chargers, but if you pump 180
into one bus you have to have
liquid-cooled guns and cabling
because then it gets too hot. So at
60kW per bus that’s about five hours
to charge – which is not bad.”
The software in the bus is also key
he says for efficient operation.
“The software I’m looking at
actually recognises the bus. It knows
a bus has ‘this much charge’ on
it when it comes in. It then works
out which bus needs more power
and charging time and the rest can
wait until they are ready to be fully
charged,” he explained.
“To do this manually you’d have to
have people here at 2–3 ‘o clock in
the morning making sure buses are
getting charged.
Opposite, Top:
Interline’s owner
Joe Oliveri says
although the move to
electric has benefits,
there are still a
lot of operational
challenges around
electric buses that
need to be fully
considered.
Opposite, Below:
(L-R) Peter Sidgreaves,
Member for Camden;
Matt Threlkeld,
BusNSW; Joe Oliveri,
Interline Bus Services;
Andrew Constance,
NSW minister
for transport and
roads; and Melanie
Gibbons, Member
for Holsworthy, who
attended the handover
at Leppington
Railway Station,
recently.
ZEB fleets is how to save electricity.
“Once I told my provider what
rates I would be using, the rate
tumbled down because we are
expecting to use about 1 MegaWatt
per year for 10 buses. We estimated
we’d be using about 300kW per day
average on each bus and when we
did this bus on full double shifts we
actually pumped into it 279kW. And
because I haven’t got my electricity
yet – my 2,000 amps – it took nine
hours to charge because if I charged
it any faster I would have blacked
out the place,” he joked.
“I have the certification to do
that and now I’m in the process of
getting the contractor to bring the
power to the yard and once that
is in and the new substation is put
in I’ll have 2,000 amps. And from
then on, once I get up to about 25
buses I’ve got to work out which way
I’ve got to go: do I bring in another
source of power from the substation
around the corner – which is big
dollars because they’d have to run
cables just to me. That cost will not
be subsidised by the government.
That kind of thing will be part of a
tender,” he explained.
“So there are a million ways to
approach this [charging delivery];
I’m looking at bringing in 1,000
MegaWatt containers, with one
MegaWatt I could probably charge
30-odd buses, so if I replace all
the fleet and do those too I’ll have
120-odd buses and all of them will
be at Leppington very soon.
“Or do I get 4,000 amps from the
power station? How much does that
cost? To bring 2,000 amps in here,
which has no infrastructure, there’s
no footpaths, there’s no rural roads
here, there’s nothing here; I can get
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ABC February 2021 busnews.com.au