A new bus that will transport students between SF State and the Daly City BART station does not have an engine, an exhaust pipe or a transmission system.
The bus, showcased at the 25th anniversary celebration of Earth Day last Wednesday and Thursday, runs solely on electricity.
SF State is the first campus in California State University history to own and use this "cutting edge" electric bus, according to John Atkinson, SF State's traffic coordinator. The bus made its first shuttle trip yesterday.
"I'm excited. This is such a unique and new project for the entire university," Atkinson said. "This is the largest design available in electric vehicles right now."
The 22-foot-long, 15,000-pound electric bus provides a "smooth and quiet" ride to a maximum of 22 passengers at a time, he said.
An open space in the center of the floor area has room for six standing passengers, and booth seats are in a U-shape for 16 seated passengers surrounding the open center area. Passengers can enjoy outside views easily through big and wide windows.
It transports students, staff and faculty for free during the morning rush hours between 7 and 10 a.m. and during the evening rush hours between 3 and 6 p.m. With two direct current (DC) motors, the bus can travel for 65 miles before recharging, and its maximum speed is 30 mph, he said.
Qin Wu, an industrial design major, said she regularly rides the shuttle to get to the BART station and is very happy about the new electric bus.
"I'm very excited. I can't wait to try it," Wu said.
Between those runs, the bus will be recharged at the charging station next to the University Police Department in a 20-foot shipping container that houses the three battery chargers, Atkinson said.
The bus is powered by a total of four packs of 6-volt, lead-acid batteries (10 batteries in each pack), which are the same as car batteries, Atkinson said.
"The total recharging time is approximately 5 to 6 hours, and batteries will be recharged at night in order to take advantage of lower power rates," he said.
The electric bus pilot project was developed jointly by SF State, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, the San Francisco Transportation Authority and U.S. Electricar, which manufactured the bus, Atkinson said.
The transportation office spent $100,000 for the electric bus and about $19,000 for the charging station, Atkinson said.
The money came from a state grant paid by the Transportation Fund for Clean Air. The fund is supported by a $3 surcharge Californians pay at the Department of Motor Vehicles when they register their cars and motorcycles, he said.
"Bay Area Air Quality Management District reviews projects, and decides if they are worthy or not for grant money," Atkinson said. "They decided this pilot program is worthy."
The transportation office is also working with the Engineering and Design Center on campus to develop a solar powered system as an additional power supply to charge the bus.
Eugene Sushansky, an electrical engineering senior, said he is developing the solar paneling system to put on the roof of the charging station.
Sushansky said that although the bus has to rely solely on the chargers under rainy and foggy weather conditions, "I think it's going to be a good additional power source.
"It's good that we don't have to destroy our environment to get power supply. It's a natural resource, and we don't have to pay for it," he said.
Since Sushansky is still testing what system would work best, he does not know exactly how much solar power the panels will provide, he said.
Besides efforts by the sponsors, UC Berkeley, which currently owns seven similar electric buses, offered technical advice to help the project, Atkinson said.
UC Berkeley came up with the idea for the U-shaped lounge seats installed in the bus, he said.
"I made several site visits over to UC Berkeley. I took our electric engineers over there. They (UC Berkeley) walked us through the whole process," he said.
Pacific Gas & Electric also helped by giving some equipment and advice to this project, Atkinson said. "They donated a lot of consulting to us as far as electrical requirements. They're also providing us meters (used to measure usage of electricity), which are expensive."
Under the agreement with the Air Quality Management District, the transportation office will keep its records on electricity use and other related data, Atkinson said.
"As a part of my requirement, I have to do tracking as far as usage of the van," he said. "I have to present to them (the district office) a monthly report on electric use and maintenance on the vehicle."
Ted Georgiou, a local resident who often visits SF State's library by taking the shuttle van, said, "It's the future of transportation. It's good for protection of our environment. Even though it doesn't run that fast, it's (the speed) not that important because the distance is not long."
Benjamin Williams, a liberal arts senior, said, "It's great. The main reason is no emission (of carbon monoxide)."
Williams, who rides his bike to the campus every day, except rainy days, said the air in California is not getting any better. "So if anything is going to reduce that (emission level), I see it as a positive thing," he added.
Williams said the van is very quiet and can reduce the noise level. "Less noise pollution. That's another factor (that can be beneficial), too."