ABC #406

THE WOT!?!
BATTERY WOES
With electric buses becoming increasingly
popular, questions are going to be asked
about what caused this fire that wiped out
a line of them in China, recently. Located
on a university campus in southern China’s
Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region,
smoke was seen pouring from one bus early
in the morning, believed to be a battery
malfunction, before bursting into flames.
The fire then quickly spread along the
parked line of buses, destroying four before
firefighters could put it out.
CHARGING AHEAD
In happier electric bus news, First Bus has
announced that work has begun at its
Caledonia depot in Glasgow – the largest
bus depot in the UK – on turning it into a
huge electric charging hub. With plans to
have a completely emission-free fleet by
2035, the Glasgow depot will eventually
have capacity to charge 300 buses on site.
The first phase of the project will see 11
dual DC rapid charging units installed and a
further 69 planned for later in the year.
SOCIAL SCENE
Showing perfectly how buses can bring
people together, the Social Enterprise
Council of NSW and ACT (SECNA) decided
to try something different recently with a
bus tour around Sydney to explore the work
of social enterprises in the city. SECNA’s
inaugural Social Enterprise Bus Tour took
philanthropists, corporate employees,
government officials and social enterprise
leaders to over 20 Sydney businesses to
discuss how to achieve greater diversity,
sustainability and inclusiveness in society.
Sydney deputy lord mayor Jess Scully says
the tour was a way to showcase the work
going on behind the scenes and that the
bus tour is a way, “...to take people right to
[the heart of] those places”. More info can
be found at: www.secna.org.au
busnews.com.au June 2021 ABC
17