RTC will test-drive electric bus in LV

Monday, Nov. 26, 2001 | 9:32 a.m.

Buses that belch heavy clouds of diesel smoke are largely a thing of the past in urban areas like Las Vegas, but even the cleanest still produce tailpipe emissions.

The Regional Transportation Commission will test-drive a fully electric bus today and Tuesday that could change that.

The RTC is researching the practicality of the new electric buses. The manufacturer, Electric Fuel Corp., and the Federal Trade Commission are partners in the study, Ingrid Reisman, RTC spokeswoman, said.

Electric Fuel Corp., which puts an electric motor on a standard bus frame, says the concept is practical and affordable.

"The zero-emissions bus we are demonstrating in Las Vegas promises to provide a better quality of life for people in urban environments today and for their children and their children's children," company President Yehuda Harats said. "It offers cleaner and healthier air, eliminates the noise created by conventional city buses and even promotes a sound energy policy by helping reduce our dependence on imported petroleum."

The buses use a new technology that allows the vehicles to stay on the road for up to eight hours in stop-and-go city traffic, longer than buses using older electric batteries, company officials said.

Transit operators and industry representatives from around the country are expected to attend the demonstration, Reisman said. The visitors will likely take rides on the test vehicle but it will not be used to pick up and drop off regular RTC Citizens Area Transit customers, she said.

Las Vegas, like other urban areas around the country, is struggling to clean up stubborn air pollution problems. Mass transit agencies nationwide are searching for a clean, affordable alternative to traditional gas and diesel fuel-powered buses.

One of those who has proposed more money to subsidize research on clean alternatives for mass transit is Sen. Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat and majority whip.

"Electric Fuel's electric bus takes an important step toward reducing pollution as well as promoting energy conservation by eliminating the need to power city buses with diesel fuel," Reid said. "Building a bus that offers an affordable alternative fuel source and that is nearly ready for delivery is a major accomplishment, and I would like to see this kind of vehicle on the streets of our cities as quickly as possible."

Reisman said that the RTC's main goal is to evaluate the practicality of the new buses, not test-drive them in preparation for a possible purchase. But if the system works well and cheaply, then it could be an option for the RTC and other bus systems.