Green Shield (Pepsi grantee)

[Big Dave]

I'm with Frank. A massive failure.

If you wanna help the MPG of school buses, make them hybrids and recover that energy from their stop-and-go duty cycle.

Lotsa feel-good. No results.

A C-notes says we'll never hear the results.

[spacer]

I lived on a rural route when I was a kid, and spent way too much time riding on those danged cattle cars. We rarely got to more than 30 or so mph, and even out in the country, the primary mpg problem was all the stop n go.

I wanted to ride my bicycle the 1.5 miles to school, but when my parents asked about it, they strongly hinted that they needed to drive us or have us ride the bus. So... I ended up getting up before 5 am in order to catch a bus on its way OUT on its route.

[Frank Lee]

Originally Posted by Big Dave

If you wanna help the MPG of school buses, make them hybrids and recover that energy from their stop-and-go duty cycle.

Lotsa feel-good. No results.

A C-notes says we'll never hear the results.

Exactly.

RE: feel good/no results... we've never gotten the "results" of the Linc-Volt, have we...

[Angmaar]

Why don't they do something like a giant boat tail? Maybe throw in some wheel skirts too.

[Bicycle Bob]

Well, Pepsi is not exactly marketing to the Mensa Members. "Nutrition for Dummies" works automatically - you don't even have to read a book.

[Arragonis]

Aren't we missing the FE point of buses here - 1 car = 1-3 people - the median average probably about 1.001 people. 1 bus = 20-50 people.

So in the green-stakes really cars have a long way to catch up really ?

[AeroModder]

A full boattail probably can't be done. They have emergency exits on the rear of busses.

However, a partial kammback would be better. You'll just need to relocate the lights.

[Angmaar]

Originally Posted by AeroModder

A full boattail probably can't be done. They have emergency exits on the rear of busses.

However, a partial kammback would be better. You'll just need to relocate the lights.

There could be some kind of a door/slide in the back of the boat tail.

[Christ]

Originally Posted by Angmaar

There could be some kind of a door/slide in the back of the boat tail.

It would have to open with the primary emergency hatch in the back to pass safety inspections. My neighbor is a bus owner/operator for the local school district. If there is a spot of rust anywhere on the chassis of a bus in PA, and a random inspection finds that spot, the bus is grounded (LOL) until it's repaired to specifications. They're VERY strict about the buses around here.

Several buses are being built with Egress windows, as well. The whole frame pops out with the lift of a lever.

A Kamm would be about the best they could do and still make it legal, if retrofitting. There's no reason a bus, especially a pusher, couldn't be built with a boat tail at the rear, and an emergency egress hatch at the side, though. No reason at all.