The University of Utah has placed an order for a 40-foot, all-electric transit bus with BYD Company Limited (BYD) the largest manufacture of all-electric buses in the world.
BYD's long-range, all-electric, "GreenCity" buses (click for video) have been running worldwide in commercial fleet service for the last two years. BYD's GreenCity fleets (which include both eTaxi's and eBUSes) have accumulated over 14 million miles (or 23 million Km) using BYD's internally developed electric drive technologies and Iron-Phosphate battery systems. BYD will supply one all-electric GreenCity bus to be retrofitted with WAVE's wireless charging pad under the bus, developed by the Utah State University Energy Dynamics Laboratory, one of the leaders in wireless power transfer for vehicles. This technology will allow the BYD electric buses to pull up over an embedded charger in the asphalt with a maximum of 10 inches clearance and "opportunity charge" the waiting bus with no moving parts or unsightly wires required. The funds to test a full in-service operation of WAVE's wireless power charging system were provided through a Federal Transit Administration grant awarded to the Utah Transit Authority. MarketWatch
