Mobility and environmental friendliness: how modern trolleybuses can ride without trolleys

Modern trolleybuses with autonomous course can unite remote corners of the city and at the same time contribute to the preservation of the environment.

(KDPV)

The roads polluted and overloaded with transport are today a disappointing reality not only for Ukraine, but also for developed countries. In the European Union, to solve this problem, they plan to completely ban the movement of such vehicles in cities [probably, there are generally introduced initiatives to ban the sale of cars from the internal combustion engine and the transfer of public transport to electricity - approx. translator, hereinafter - PP] . And our country is going to switch to electric public transport until 2030. National manufacturers are ready to respond to this challenge - in particular, with the help of modern trolleybuses with autonomous travel, which can unite remote corners of the city and at the same time contribute to the preservation of the environment.

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Technological innovations of Ukrainian engineering

For a long time, domestic automakers, on their own initiative, have been supporting the trend of environmentally safe electric transport, seeking to increase the comfort of the population in cities. What are the advantages of trolleybuses?

First, they save budget money. For example, Bogdan trolleybuses consume 40% less electricity [compared to which? - PP] . At stops, their engine is turned off, and during braking it generates electricity and gives it to the contact network [recovery - PP] . In addition, the maintenance of such equipment is much cheaper in the long term: it is amenable to overhaul, its life can be extended.

Secondly, trolley buses are more comfortable for drivers and passengers. In the summer, electric vehicles do not heat the cabin with an engine, which means there is no need for additional cooling. They are also much quieter than the rest of the equipment and do not increase the level of traffic noise in the city [bus - 90-92dB, trolleybus - 70dB - PP] , which adversely affects the health of the population.



Trolleybuses were often blamed for their slowness. The reason for this was the contact network , which significantly limited the mobility of transport. But modern technologies allow to be independent of it.

To ensure movement without connecting to the power grid, Bogdan trolleybuses are equipped with lithium-ion batteries . They allow you to drive along the stretch of road from one kilometer on your own. The more such batteries - the longer the range of autonomous travel.

In 2018, in Kremenchug, thanks to this technology, Bogdan united the banks of the Dnieper: until that time, trolleybuses could not pass on the Kryukovsky bridge [total length - 1.2 km - PP] , because there was no contact network on it. Thus, an important message emerged aimed at reducing traffic tensions and improving the environmental situation in an industrial city. Moreover, this route created competition for private transport, which for a long time was the only alternative on the right bank of Kremenchug.

Lithium-ion batteries in a trolleybus design make it possible to reach the most remote areas and overcome obstacles without creating congestion. This means that city authorities do not need to look for money to create an electrical contact network. At the same time, the mobility of the movement of trolleybuses with autonomous course makes it possible to combine several routes into one. And also to replace routes depending on the needs of the population without extra costs.

The need for greening transport

Another great advantage of trolley buses is their environmental friendliness. Cities feel an urgent need for such transport, as they suffer from excess gas pollution. So, in Kiev in 2018, the rate of pollution with nitrogen dioxide and formaldehyde was sometimes 4-6 times higher than the norm. The causes of respiratory diseases and exacerbations of chronic diseases hide behind these complex names. According to a study by Ukrainian scientists, among adolescents who are residents of the city center, there are significantly fewer healthy ones than among those who spend time in sleeping areas with less traffic. These results indicate the urgent need to reduce the number of vehicles that do not meet environmental standards.

Today, bus routes prevail in most of the 460 cities of the state [of Ukraine - PP] . Electric transport operates only in 51 of them. At the same time, out of almost four thousand registered trolleybuses, 67% have already exhausted their useful life and need to be replaced.



Therefore, improving the quality of passenger traffic due to the new electric transport is one of the main ways to overcome the problem of gas pollution. The main thing is that the modernization of technology occurred along with the reform of the infrastructure, which would provide for separate lanes for public transport and a clear timetable.

To date, Bogdan is ready to provide all cities that want to upgrade their rolling stock with modernized low-floor trolleybuses: the best Auto Assembly Plant No. 1 is capable of producing up to 6,000 units of equipment per year. In 2019, new trolleybuses have already ordered Kiev, Kharkov and Sumy, continuing to move towards the greening of their transport systems.

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