NV5 is providing civil design services for the University of Utah’s (U’s) Build Your Dream Bus project. This innovative project – powered by Wireless Advanced Vehicle Electrification technology (WAVE) – will provide the first of its kind bus service in the United States.
When the bus drives over the charging plate, a current flows and no physical contact is required. Engineers at USU designed the system in a way that allows the bus to be misaligned up to 6 inches from the charge plate and still receive 25kW of power and 90 percent efficiency from the power grid to the battery.
“We are excited to be part of this project” said Ryan Cathey, NV5’s project manager “a zero emissions mass transit system through the center of the campus is not only a practical solution, but a sustainable one as well” he concluded.
Prior to this project, there was no transit service through the University’s campus. Main advantages of the zero emissions bus, is that it is very quiet allowing it to operate through the center of the campus with minimal disruptions. Additionally, the batteries can be much smaller since they charge every time the bus stops to load passengers, making the vehicle lighter, more efficient and practical.
Bus service is scheduled to commence summer 2013.
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