Collaborative Research

Green Motorsport, have recently acquired and refurbished an Optare MetroRider bus which was converted to battery-electric operation in the mid-1990s.

The vehicle was one of four buses which formerly ran in Oxford on a circular service called City Circuit. It was operated in partnership with Southern Electric and Oxfordshire County Council. The vehicle, which has 16 seats (with additional space for a wheelchair and or baby buggies if required) has a range of around 40 miles on a single charge. Unfortunately, the batteries are nearing the end of their useful life and TDI would like to make this vehicle available to perhaps an operator or research group who have an interest in developing low emission/hybrid drive systems. For example it might make an ideal test-bed for an experimental fuel cell. The motor is 228v currently powered by 114 (HER 4 type) 300Ah cells.