Automotive News Canada - October 2016 - V2 - 16

* OCTOBER 2016

FUTURE

FLYER
Public transit will drive and fuel itself
and interact with cars, pedestrians and
infrastructure. Winnipeg is smack
in the middle of this tech shift

By KELLY TAYLOR
WINNIPEG CORRESPONDENT

INNIPEG'S NEW
FLYER INDUSTRIES
may be on top of North
America's bus manufacturing sector now,
but Chris Stoddart,
vice-president of engineering, knows staying
ahead of future trends
is the only way to stay there.
So for a look into the future of personal mobility, taking a look at what's on
his desk and in his mind now isn't a bad
place to start.
The pressing issue today might be
alternative fuels and New Flyer is working on a number of angles, from battery-electric and compressed natural
gas, to diesel-electric hybrids and hydrogen fuel cells. The company already
has dozens of natural-gas vehicles and
diesel-electric hybrids on roads across
North America, and in Winnipeg is
studying a test case for an electric bus
that uses "opportunity charging."
But looking forward, Stoddart and his
team are already investigating aspects
of autonomous driving to integrate into
buses. "There's no doubt a significant
part of our technology roadmap will
involve adding semi-autonomous features
to buses," he said.
He says the first steps will most likely mirror what has been happening with
cars, with technology such as lane-departure warning and steering assistance, as
well as emergency braking. Full autonomy might be on the radar, but he says it's

just a blip on the horizon today.
More interesting might be his early
thoughts on the so-called multi-mode
transportation, where a commute might
involve two, three or more types of vehicles: a bike to a bus hub, then a bus to
a train hub and possibly Uber or Lyft
ride-hailing services for the last mile.

CROSS-MODE COMMUNICATION

It's a big part of what Ford and
General Motors are looking at as they
plan to blow up their business models.
Stoddart envisions an app that links
various forms of transportation from various providers to create a cohesive itinerary.
"You'll want to be able to look at your
smartphone and see the bus will arrive
in 10 minutes, will arrive at the train station 15 minutes before the train departs
and then the train arrives at 9:30 a.m., so
can Uber pick me up then?" he said.
It's a nifty concept, but invokes memories of protocol battles such as VHS vs.
Beta or High-definition Disc vs. Blu-Ray.
Fortunately, the various providers
of transit vehicles have come together
already on other protocols, such as for
charging stations and connectors.

VOLT-LIKE OPERATION
Hydrogen-fuel-cell technology has
evolved to the point fuel cells for buses
operate now much like the internal-combustion engine in the Chevrolet Volt:
all of the energy for the electric motors
comes from batteries, with the fuel cell
acting as a range-extender by creating
electricity for the batteries.
"It used to be a very small battery
and a very large fuel cell," Stoddart said.

New Flyer Industries Vice-President
of Engineering Chris Stoddart
(left) and Director of New Product
Development Thomas Small with
one of the company's electric buses.
(PHOTO: JOE KNYCHA)

"Now, it's a very large battery and a very
small fuel cell."
Stoddart said that the thinking behind
the Volt could be the next frontier in
electric buses. Using a range-extender,
perhaps a 2.0-litre four-cylinder gasoline
engine to recharge batteries, is a promising way to answer questions about range.
"You can't get a more sophisticated
technology than a gasoline engine that's
as cheap and available, and since you can
run it at a steady-state r.p.m., the emissions are optimal."
An interesting test under way now in
Winnipeg - the "opportunity charging"
example - involves a battery-electric
bus running on a 40-kilometre loop.
At the airport, the bus drives under
an overhead charging station where a
roof-mounted device raises automatically
to connect with three electric terminals.
The bus recharges in 10 minutes as part
of its regularly scheduled layover at the
airport. - ANC

Being tested right now is an electric
bus that recharges in 10 minutes
at the end of a 40-kilometre loop
around Winnipeg.
(PHOTO: JOE KNYCHA)

It used to be a very small
battery and a very large
fuel cell, now it's a very
large battery and a very
small fuel cell.
CHRIS STODDART

Vice-President of Engineering,
New Flyer Industries

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Automotive News Canada - October 2016 - V2