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Cold weather decreases electric bus driving range, but has no major impacts

By Isabella Vesperini

Posted January 19, 2024

A photo of a Bloomington Transit bus from the front.

As part of their aim to improve sustainability in town, the City is planning to add 16 more electric buses in the next two years. (WFIU/WTIU File Photo)

The extreme cold weather has not significantly affected electric city bus operations.

Zac Huneck, grants and procurement specialist for the Bloomington Public Transportation Corporation, said the extreme cold weather drains the battery of the electric buses quicker. Even though the electric buses usually only do half-day shifts, they have been returning with worse battery life than normal.

“There's always limitations to the battery electrics,” Huneck said. “To get them through the day, they need to be supplemented by on site charging throughout the route, which we don't have, we only do overnight charging.”

Huneck said the cold weather has almost no impact on the amount of time it takes to charge a bus when the recharge starts at the same level; it takes about two and a half hours to charge an electric bus regardless of the weather. There is about a 10-minute difference on average when charging in cold weather.

“Since the buses do come back with less charge than during warmer weather, it does require some more time overall to charge, meaning slightly higher electric bills,” Huneck said.

It is more affordable to operate electric buses than diesel buses. Electric bills will also increase slightly because heaters are needed to keep the diesel buses warm and avoid frozen fuel and oil.

Sometimes, he charges the buses inside, but facilities are limited. As part of their aim to improve sustainability in town, the City is planning to add 16 more electric buses in the next two years. Storage space may eventually become an issue.

“Right now, it's not an issue, but as extra buses come in, this is something you'll want to plan for,” Huneck said.

Because of the weather, buses have been more crowded, Huneck said. In these cases, tripper buses are sent to different bus stations to pick up the remaining students. Bloomington Transit has not faced any challenges with drivers not showing up to work due to the extreme weather.