2013 APTA Conference Highlights Alternative Fuel Bus Technologies

Public transportation is a booming $50 billion industry that employs close to 400,000 workers. But this industry is about more than just economics, urbanism and connecting the community – all of which the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) touts as positive features of a high quality public transportation system. New technologies are making it a way to impact the environmental landscape of a community, which APTA showcased on May 6th at their 2013 annual conference in Indianapolis, hosted by IndyGo.

APTA’s annual Bus and Paratransit Conference is in town this week, and part of the conference was a display of 26 buses at White River State Park near the Visitor Center. Among those buses, over half a dozen were powered by alternative fuels – all electric, hybrids, compressed natural gas (CNG) – highlighting the advances in clean technology for these large scale vehicles. Many of these low or no emissions options are made in the US. For example, Crosspoint Kinetics, a subsidiary of Cummins Crosspoint (Cummins’ exclusive distributor of Cummins products in a five-state territory), had a hybrid power system on display that uses ultra-capacitors instead of batteries to store energy, making it 500 pounds lighter than many other alternative systems. Those systems are manufactured and assembled in the state of Indiana.

Crosspoint Kinetics

All-electric models were also on display at the exhibit. BYD and Proterra both exhibited their zero emissions buses, touting their low impact on the environment and lower maintenance and fuel costs.

CNG vehicles also made an appearance at the exhibit, including DesignLine’s ECOSaver Range Extended Electric Vehicle (REEV) – a unique vehicle that combines a fully electric drive system with the consumer’s choice of fuel options, including CNG, diesel or propane. Its 52 kWh of Lithium Ion batteries provides the ability to drive on electricity for 40 percent of the day, dramatically reducing carbon emissions.

At a small press conference during the exhibit, IndyGo President & CEO Mike Terry described Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard’s commitment to the city of Indianapolis and the region: “[Ballard] has been a champion for Indianapolis and the region for mass transit, enhancing the public transportation system, and also for alternative fuels, looking at ways in which we can conserve and reduce our dependency on foreign oil; but also looking at the investments in alternative technologies such as compressed natural gas or full electric [vehicles] and hybrids.”

Mayor Ballard specifically highlighted Indiana companies and ESN partners Allison and Cummins as major contributors to the public transportation industry and its impact on the economy by sustaining and creating jobs.

APTA’s mission is “to strengthen and improve public transportation” and “ensure that public transportation is available and accessible for all Americans in communities across the country.” Its conference, which ends May 8th, includes programs focused on policy, planning, operations and maintenance, technology, safety and security, procurement and special issues on accessible transportation among other topics. For more information on APTA, visit www.apta.com.