Knoxville Area Transit (TN) is working with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory on a 12-month data collection project to assess fuel efficiency, safety, and emissions. ORNL is installing equipment on three buses to collect 60 sets of data as the buses operate in real-world conditions. ”We are going to get a lot of data,” said Helmut E. Knee, group leader of transportation technology with ORNL’s Heavy Vehicle Safety Research Program. “The research community always has a hunger for data collected from real-world performance.” Regional grocery wholesaler H.T. Hackney is also participating in the project.
KAT is also applying for federal funds to aquire hybrid buses; if the grant bid is successful, ORNL will compare the performance of hybrids and conventional diesel buses under different operating conditions. “We might find that there are particular routes that are better suited for hybrid buses than traditional buses. Hybrid is generally better in stop-and-go traffic and hilly routes,” added Knee. Link to full story in Knoxville News Sentinel.
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