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Eaton hybrid backbone of Crown Coaches BCI school bus

Crown Coaches is the first company in Australia to introduce a vehicle using a Hybrid Power System from diversified manufacturer

Crown Coaches is the first company in Australia to introduce a vehicle using a Hybrid Power System from diversified manufacturer Eaton Corporation.

The coach, built by Bus and Coach International (BCI), will commence service in early February transporting school children and can accommodate wheel-chair bound passengers.

The bus was introduced at a media event laste week in Melbourne with representatives from Eaton, Crown Coaches and BCI, as well as Victoria’s Minister for Education, Bronwyn Pike MP.

“We have passionately tackled environmental issues such as greenhouse gas emissions, water recycling, preventive maintenance and industrial waste management,” says Vic Haoust, Director of Crown Coaches.

“The BCI hybrid bus is another step toward promoting cleaner air and a healthier environment for everyone.”

Robert Clarke, Eaton’s Managing Director for its Truck business in Australia, says he is excited to have the comany’s latest technology Hybrid Power System introduced into the Australian market.

“We have experienced significant local interest in this technology during the past year and expect adoption of the hybrid system to increase. We’re pleased to be able to offer a dependable, economically viable solution that provides significant fuel savings and reduced carbon emissions. The fuel economy improvements for this vehicle are reported to be around 30 percent,” Clarke says.

“Eaton has pioneered the development of hybrid power systems for commercial vehicles. Our current hybrid offering provides not just improved fuel economy but also increased functionality, environmental benefits, quieter operation and better performance.”

Eaton’s hybrid-electric power systems consist of an automated clutch, electric motor/generator, motor controller/inverter, energy storage unit, automated mechanical transmission and an integrated supervisory hybrid control module.

Eaton’s hybrid system takes the energy that is created while a vehicle brakes, and regenerates it for later use, thus improving fuel economy and reducing carbon emissions.

The hybrid-electric power system is most effective in vehicles that start and stop regularly such as city buses, suburban delivery and utility vehicles.

The automated mechanical transmission provides easy-to-drive, two pedal operation for the driver and is ideally suited to these types of applications.

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