Mass Transit

SEP-OCT 2014

Mass Transit magazine features agency profiles, industry trends, management tips and new product information.

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94 | Mass Transit | MassTransitmag.com | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2014 For more information, visit www.MassTransitmag.com/10066373 systems could bring additional concerns when being used in public transportation. "One of the dangers you don't have to look out for with electric hybrids is you don't have that high pressure oil that you have to worry about getting loose because it can drill holes in things," Zepp said. "Tose operate at 30,000 to 35,000 PSI, which is the same level of pressure a com- mercial airliner uses for its control sys- tems, so you don't ever want to get a leak or a pinhole because it will shoot out like a water jet cutter and you don't want that to get anywhere near your passengers." However, hybrids aren't a solution for ev- eryone. Zepp said frequent stops and idling need to be part of a hybrid's stop in order for it to generate savings, seeing as it takes the capture of kinetic energy to make it useful. Hybrids also got a bad rap when they frst appeared on the transit market due to reliability issues. Zepp said it has come to making the system as simple as possible in order to avoid constant and continual breakdowns with a hybird. "We tried to follow the keep it sim- ple approach while other companies have their systems very, very intergrat- ed with the engine and the starting and stop and the engine controls," he said. "If you had one hiccup in the system, then sometimes the engine wouldn't restart and then it would be stranded. It's like everybody's kiss of death, or the Mur- phy's Law of hybrids and if a little failure causes you to have to wait for a tow truck, that's really embarrassing and you have to avoid that at all costs." HYBRID TECHNOLOGY is becoming a popular way to cut fuel costs for transit agencies even on paratransit vehicles. A HYBRID system from Crosspoint Kinetics collects power when a vehicle is slowing down and then used to power the vehicle forward from a dead stop. Crosspoint Kine tics Crosspoint Kinetics FUELING CHANGE

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