Battery-operated buses are more energy-efficient than vehicles that employ traditional internal combustion engines. When sitting idle or coasting, battery-powered vehicles aren't wasting power as gas-powered vehicles do because the electric motor connects directly to the wheels. Battery-powered vehicles also feature an innovative regenerative braking system that uses the motor as a generator to return as much as half of the vehicle's kinetic energy to the batteries each time the brakes are used.
Since 1991, Chattanooga, Tennessee, has provided a free line of battery-operated buses to serve the downtown area, and these electric vehicles have been instrumental in the improvement of this once desolate area's improved environment. In addition to the noticeable reduction in traffic and parking lot congestion, the output of pollution is Chattanooga has been dramatically reduced since the introduction of these battery-powered, zero-emission buses. According to Smart Communities Network, 2,900 lbs. of carbon oxide emissions, 10,800 lbs. of nitrous oxide and 3.5 million lbs. of carbon dioxide have been kept out of the air each year by Chattanooga's battery-powered line of buses.
Battery-powered buses and vehicles are also cheaper and easier to maintain, as they require no tune-ups or oil changes, and typically only take between six and eight hours to fully recharge. Each of Chattanooga's battery-operated buses has either an older direct current (DC) or more powerful alternating current (AC) propulsion system. Each electric bus carries at least two sets of lead-acid batteries, which can easily be changed out in about 10 to 15 minutes.
