LEADING INNOVATION
JULY/AUGUST 2018 | MassTransitmag.com | Mass Transit | 15
Electric Bus Demonstration
& Integration Trial
Th e project started off with a group
of about eight transit agencies in
Canada that put up their hands saying
yes to getting into electric buses.
Th ey were willing to put money on
the table — money that would have
gone to diesel buses.
Of the original eight transit agencies,
fi ve dropped out due to political
reasons, funding reasons, and/
or trepidation at taking on the risk.
Th e three transit agencies in the
project were able to convince local
councilors to give CUTRIC the
time to plan it out, work with local
standards, and work through all of
the data analysis and engineering
analysis that will happen during the
fi rst three years of the deployment
of the vehicles. Th e project is being
launched in Vancouver, Brampton
and York with 18 electric buses and
seven overhead chargers.
CUTRIC’s task was to go out and
talk to manufacturers and fi nd the
ones willing to come to the table.
Th e project launched with New
Flyer, Nova Bus, ABB and Siemens.
She said, “Th ose four manufacturers
were willing to abandon whatever
proprietary technology they
were developing, talk to each other,
work with each other through the
CUTRIC exchange committee and
working group structure, to design
standardized, interoperable, plugand
play overhead charging.
“Th ose companies all took risk.
It cost them a lot of money for this
project.” She continued, “It was
something they decided to invest a
lot of engineering time on, without
a guaranteed sale at the end. And
transit agencies similarly spent
hundreds of thousands of dollars,
if not millions, in labor time taking
2-1/2 years and planning it out
thoroughly.”
For more information, visit www.MassTransitmag.com/12073041
Th e important distinction
between a pilot
project and the trial is that
what comes out at the end
is a world-class trial, said
Petrunic, and not just a
pilot project that may or
may not succeed, or may
or may not have impact on
the commercialization of
this technology.
“Th is kind of thing
can’t happen anywhere
else.” She stressed, “We
call them integration trials
because the vehicles that are
purchased or leased … are meant
to be a permanent part of your
fl eet. It’s not that aft er two or three
years, you give it back or you give
it up; that happens way too oft en.
Th at doesn’t move the needle.”
“We have to remind people
we’re not an industry association,”
Petrunic said. “CUTA is a
“We all have
some brains and
knowledge, but
we need the brains
and knowledge of
everybody else at
the table to make
the project happen.”
- CUTRIC Executive
Director & CEO
Josipa Petrunic
/MassTransitmag.com
/12073041
/www.macproducts.net
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