On Saturday, 10 December 2016 09:37:35 UTC, Recliner wrote:
DRH wrote:
On Friday, 9 December 2016 21:08:01 UTC, Recliner wrote:
DRH wrote:
The Red Arrow BYD / Alexander-Dennis Enviro200EV buses have
iron-phosphate batteries at the rear and in the roof pod, which also
incorporates the aircon unit. The driveline comprises two 90kW wheel-hub
motors and water cooling system plus regenerative braking system.

There are also five BYD double-deck battery buses in (intermittent) use on route 98.

Thanks, that's interesting. Were the additional batteries in the roof pod
added to increase the range? They sound like an afterthought.

No, I think it is to balance the weight. They appear to be split 50/50
with the very back of the bus.

OK, that makes sense. They must put quite a lot of weight on what's
normally a flimsy body structure, though. Or do those buses have monocoque
bodies, with no chassis?

I think they have separate chassis and body. The two earlier BYD ("Build Your Dream") buses tried on the Red Arrow routes, EB1 and EB2, had bodies built by BYD itself. They had batteries in a pod on the roof and in two large cabinets over the front wheels. The new ones have a bog-standard Enviro 200MMC adapted diesel bus body, but possibly strengthened to cope with the extra weight of the batteries.

DRH