LV tries out a new kind of bus

Angela Soo

Friday, Nov. 30, 2001 | 9:19 a.m.

A pollution-free bus system that uses a technology developed in Israel made its first official test run this week in Las Vegas.

Representatives of the Electric Fuel Transportation Corp., the company that developed the technology, demonstrated the new bus Tuesday at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and Wednesday at its Integrated Bus Maintenance Facility in North Las Vegas.

There are currently no full-size buses in the United States that run on a zinc-air fuel cell system, which produces zero emissions and can last almost three times longer than buses that use lead-acid batteries, Electric Fuel Vice President Jonathan Whartman said.

Air enters each side of the bus through pocket holes about the size of a softball and filters through 846 separate zinc cells that are tucked away in the bottom of the bus. The bus contains 18 boxes that each contain 47 sheets of zinc, resembling honeycombs waiting to be processed.

The zinc reacts to the air and creates a clean electricity that produces enough energy to operate for about eight hours. Current battery-powered buses are depleted after two to three hours, Electric Fuel spokeswoman Roxanne Pascente said.

The RTC worked with Electric Fuel since 1998 in a review panel to determine the feasibility of replacing current diesel-burning buses with the electric fuel technology. If proven reliable and competitive in price, the RTC will consider a contract.

"We're trying to get cleaner and cleaner as the technology gets better and better," said RTC spokeswoman Ingrid Reisman. "But we won't waste any taxpayers' dollars if it's not a proven technology."

One requirement the panel discussed was the bus' ability to endure extreme weather conditions, which means keeping the air conditioning on full blast during summertime without breaking down.

The buses are quieter, since there is no engine and would be comparable in price to diesel-engine buses, which generate as much air pollution as 4,000 passenger cars, Whartman said.

"Downtown has the most pollution and the most bus routes," Whartman said. "We're targeting the biggest polluters in the place where it hurts most."