Four French regional cities have
opted for an innovative low floor electric vehicle system developed by a partnership
between Matra and Siemens.
The rubber-tired CIVIS trolleybus or hybrid bus, with its
optical guidance option, can operate on three-minute headways on a dedicated guideway and
can handle about 3,000 passengers an hour in each direction. An articulated version was
seen at the International Public Transit EXPO last October.
Soon after, a mixed U.S. government/industry delegation
led by then-Federal Transit Administrator Gordon Linton had an opportunity to look at the
CIVIS system in operation in Lyon. The delegation had come to Paris and Lyon to sign an
intergovernmental cooperative agreement.
More than 200 of the CIVIS units, which come in a variety
of electric and hybrid versions, are on order or option by Lyon, Grenoble,
Clermont-Ferrand, and most recently Rouen.
Components of the optical guidance system include a camera
mounted in front of the steering wheel, which can read coded markings painted on the road
indicating the path to be followed, and an image processor that detects and corrects
deviations by activating a motor on the steering column.
The system keeps the vehicle on the required route with a
tolerance of a few centimeters, and fits it accurately into bus bays at bus stops for
effortless level access to the bus interior. No heavy and expensive infrastructure is
required to install the busway since the optical guidance bars are merely painted on the
road surface and can be relocated at minimal expense.
All wheels on the vehicles are fitted with electric hub
motors, reduction gears, and multi-disc brakes. In the flexible system, power is supplied,
depending on local specs and conditions, either from an overhead trolley catenary at 750 V
DC, a diesel electric unit, and/or a hybrid transmission system fed by a battery pack. The
driver can manually override the optical guidance system at any time, drive off, and
re-enter the guideway by switching to the battery or an auxiliary diesel unit.
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