Mercedes develops duo-bus for city use
Page 23
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
A DUAL-MODE bus system has been put into trial service in Esslingen, West Germany, to assess its potential for city use. Developed by Daimler Benz in co-operation with Dornier and Bosch, the bus is driven by electric batteries in city centre use and from overhead cables outside the city centre. During that period the batteries are recharged.
The project, which is supported by the German Ministry of Technology, complements another exercise in which a diesel electric Mercedes bus is being tried in many cities in Germany. A further develop ment, which will also be tried in Esslingen, will be a further dual-mode vehicle using power from overhead lines and a diesel engine.
In an announcement at the Monte Carlo coach rally Daimler Benz said that it is also working on projects for automatic vehicle spacing systems; automatic steering systems for dense traffic operation; special bus-lanes on main roads; tunnels to avoid heavily trafficked junctions; and electronic or mechanical systems that operate buses in their lanes, leaving manual control for side roads.