Turkey’s biggest city is acting as a bridge between conventional transportation and alternative fuels following its recent purchase of 50 hybrid trams. The final tram in this order will roll out of Istanbul Transportation Authority depots by the end of 2009. Istanbul will have the biggest fleet of hybrid transit vehicles in Europe and the Middle East if current inventories hold steady.
The hybrid trams that will line Istanbul streets combine APTS Phileas bodies with the increasingly popular GM-Allison hybrid powertrain. The city plans on installing magnets in bus lanes along popular routes that will guide each tram using electronic lane tools. Authorities will be able to regulate stops and overnight storage through the use of precision docking tools. The daily operations of Istanbul’s hybrid trams will reflect current bus routes without the billowing diesel exhaust and engine groans of heavy-duty engines.
Travelers and Istanbul residents will be happy with the convenience of using the Metrobus system’s new additions. The Metrobus system has bus-only lanes that ensure timely stops at destinations throughout the city. The speed of the new trams is accompanied by the simplicity of paying for bus fare at stops before boarding. The jostling of elbows and knees aboard traditional buses is eased with spacious accommodations aboard the APTS Phileas trams.
The city is joining a select group of municipalities using hybrid trams for daily transit. There are 1,039 GM-Allison powertrains in operation throughout the world as of May 2008. Mayors in Washington, DC, Philadelphia and Minneapolis have commissioned 1,700 trams for use by the end of 2009. The benefits of hybrid trams have become clear to city councils, mayors and residents facing budget crunches.
The city of Istanbul will be able to accommodate a good portion of the 245,000 daily users with its new trams. A GM-Allison powertrain instead of an APTS Phileas lacks the emissions, operating sounds and atrocious fuel economy of traditional buses or trolleys. The hidden costs of oil changes, engine checks and brake replacements that accumulate across an entire transit system should be eased once trams replace buses. Smaller municipalities throughout the world will benefit from major cities like Istanbul and Washington D.C. investing in hybrid transit vehicles. The financial and public support for manufacturers like GM, Allison Transmission and APTS Phileas will force improvements in subsequent generations of hybrid transit vehicles.
