Prevost developing an electric coach.

rjstractor wrote:
Do these inductive charge pads exist, or is this just a concept?

They do exist. It's the exact same technology as wireless phone chargers just scaled up.

The problem is they are expensive and waste a lot of energy. The efficiency is heavily proportional to how close you can get to the pad. A phone charging array can be placed within millimeters. A bus is likely going to be a foot or more away unless you add a complicated system that extends/retracts.

Plus you have to make sure the bus can stop directly over the pad. Having ridden lots of transit, it's not uncommon for busses to stop near but not directly in front of the bus stop. That won't work.

Also, you need time. A 30-60second stop isn't going to provide much charging. If you have a half hour or more at the end of a route, easier to install a plug in charging cord and have the driver plug in as soon as they stop for lunch.

If you want it without a cord...Basically better to run overhead catenary lines (1940's technology) with a small onboard battery bank. That's what we did on a light rail line in Detroit. There wasn't room under some low bridges, so there was a small onboard battery good for a couple miles and it would retract the pantograph just before the low bridges and run on battery until clear.