Chicago is going to great lengths and expense to make electric buses work in its frigid winters in a bid to help cut pollution and fight climate change.
Drivers constantly monitor the batteries to make sure they don’t get depleted, risking the bus getting stranded. If they get below 50% charge, they’re supposed to top them off at a charger.“We’re working through the day-to-day challenges of inclement weather in Chicago,” said Don Hargrove, senior maintenance manager at the garage that’s home to most of the authority’s 23 electric buses.
Cold weather is the CTA’s biggest problem. As the temperature drops, lithium-ion batteries that run the buses aren’t as efficient and lose range. Most of the energy drained from the batteries goes to keep the bus interior heated to 70 F . On each 10-mile one-way trip on the No. 66 route, the electric buses lose about 8% of their battery energy. In the winter, they start with roughly 100 miles of range when fully charged. So after about six one-way trips, policy says drivers have to charge as they get below 50%.Normally the schedule has 10 to 15 minutes built in for charging, and the buses get around 1% of a full charge for every minute they’re plugged in.
It would take decades for the authority to get its investment back in the electric buses, but CTA officials say the cost of electric buses will come down as more are sold.In the capital of Alaska, Juneau, which has a more temperate climate but winter temperatures can still drop below zero, officials also have plans for an all-electric bus fleet, though one they got in 2020 has been plagued by mechanical problems.
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