Alexandria Transit Company (DASH)

6 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 3, ISSUE 7 There are always things to be learned when doing something that hasn’t been done before. “We’ve had our share of hiccups,” confesses Baker. “Largely it seems to be on the charging side, not so much on the bus itself. You would think that charging would be easier to deal with than the actual vehicle, but it seems to be a common theme for chargers to malfunction or go down. They’re very sensitive pieces of equipment.” It is exciting to hear Baker and Barna share the Alexandria Transit Company’s plans for the future, which include expanding the DASH bus storage facility to house an additional 40 electric buses – work that is already in progress. They plan to have overhead catenary charging systems that the buses will park beneath. It won’t be fully enclosed but will have a roof for the charging system. Once buses are parked, the structure will lower an arm to connect to the bus to charge it. They are hopeful to stay on track for the updated facility to be completed over the next couple of years. While Baker believes that facility is key to their goal of fully electrifying their fleet, he notes, “The other piece we are exploring is how to start building out on-route charging. The City of Alexandria is very much supportive of adding on-route charging and is very ambitious about us going fully electric as quickly as possible.” One of the biggest hurdles for electric buses is coordinating the logistics of bringing the vehicle back during the day to charge it up. All of the 14 electric buses currently owned by DASH have been equipped with the ability to receive a charging cord like you see on an electric car where it’s plugged in, but they can also be charged from overhead using a roof rail system that receives a catenary arm. “You might have seen this in some cities where a train has an arm sticking up from it and it touches an electric wire above it,” explains Baker. “Think about that in reverse.” When the bus is at a stop, an arm would lower ALEXANDR I A TRANS I T COMPANY (DASH) down to touch the roof rails of the bus and provide a quick charge. That would compensate for the electric losses that it’s making on its route. If this plan comes to fruition, the buses could run indefinitely, as long as they continue to touch that charger every few trips. “The main limitation on electric bus operations is the battery range,” Barna says. “Having the heat on full blast for a whole day significantly decreases the range for the battery, which means that you have to charge the bus more frequently. This is why we’re looking at these on-route charging stations. So we don’t have to bring the bus back.” While winter operation in Virginia is the biggest General Manager and CEO, Josh Baker