The future could be bright indeed for the battery-powered bus

Although only a comparative handful of ‘pure’ electric buses are currently on the nation’s roads, 2013 is witnessing a flurry of activity in this area that could see the number of battery-powered buses increase significantly in the next few years.

Rik Thomas

05 April 2013

One of Optare’s "flagship" electric bus projects is at one of Coventry’s park-and-ride sites

Glenn Saint, Optares chief technical officer, thinks the electric bus could have a big future in the UK, once bus operators feel more comfortable with the technology

Optare, which is currently the UK’s biggest supplier of electrically-powered buses, has been involved in this business for five years now but the number of units sold has not exactly set the world alight, as the company’s chief technical officer and deputy CEO, Glenn Saint, admits. 2013 could be the year in which the electric bus makes its big breakthrough, he suggests, however, despite Government funding to support the purchase of ‘low carbon’ buses declining (LTT 7 Dec...