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A new potential for public transport? An electric powered bus goes through its paces in Dublin.
Dr Brian Edwards from Chloride, the group behind the development of the electric bus, describes the advantages. The new bus was developed in Manchester, England. Known as the Silent Rider it has already been in service in Manchester city centre for the last two years.
Both the operators and the passengers are extremely impressed with its functioning.
Operators in Manchester have not experienced any problems with the bus over the past two years. The main advantage of the vehicle is how much quieter it is than diesel counterparts. The bus is also pollution free and extremely reliable.
It’s very suitable for city centre bus operations.
One of the drawbacks at present is that the bus has a range of just 40 miles on each charge. Dr Brian Edwards says that the bus is being used on specific routes suitable to this mileage. In terms of cost, the initial investment required is about 50 per cent greater than the cost of a comparable diesel vehicle. Savings can be made over the life of the vehicle as the operating and maintenance costs are lower.
The Silent Rider can carry 41 seated passengers and has an automatic topping up system that can be recharged in three and a half hours.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 27 May 1976. The reporter is John Howard.
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