The 'Harrogate Electrics' Opportunity Charging Battery Buses

This film primarily shows the Volvo 7900e electric buses in Harrogate, Yorkshire, UK which have their batteries top-up charged during the day at the town's bus station.
Top-up charging bus batteries at a route terminus and / or other convenient locations is known as 'Opportunity Charging' (and sometimes OppCharge). The reason for doing this is that it extends the range of the working day (ie: distance that can be travelled) without needing to carry sufficient stored energy (ie: batteries) when the bus enters service.
Batteries are very heavy and buses have a legally mandated axle weight limit ... carrying more batteries (to extend the range between charges) can sometimes mean that the overall number of passengers who can travel on the bus has to be reduced.
The battery charging system used in Harrogate involves a pantograph that lowers on to charge bars located on the roof of the bus. Some people refer to this as 'panto down'.
There is also a commercially rival system where a pantograph is stored on the roof of the bus, when opportunity charging it is raised to make contact with an overhead charging unit. Often called 'panto up' this is very briefly seen at the end of this film.
Also briefly seen in this film are the 1990s battery electric minibuses in Oxford, which to use present-day terminology 'opportunity charged' outside the railway station.

[@evilroman1sobieski756]

Far to posh in Harrogate to say Hey up

[@IrnBruXtra]

Would a EV Bus be able to drive from Harrogate to Leeds and back to Harragote again on a single charge?

[@caramelldansen2204]

Surely it would make more sense for "pantograph up" charging, for easy conversion to trolley buses in future?

[@CitytransportInfoplus]

Trolleybuses need totally different fitments for the trolley poles.

[@caramelldansen2204]

@@CitytransportInfoplus fair!

[@realfrowz]

​@@CitytransportInfoplusis this a new type of a Electrostar what's with pantograph 😂

[@CitytransportInfoplus]

Its a bus, designed and built by Volvo@@realfrowz

[@matthewroberts1828]

This is a part of the answer, well done.

[@jamiep61]

More Electric Buses arriving this summer ☀️

[@Grid56]

I fhlly expected the pan to be on the bus and raise up train style. This is an unusual arrangement, it'd be interesting to know why this version was chosen.

[@CitytransportInfoplus]

Not having the pan on the bus reduces weight (of the bus) and saves money because far fewer pantographs are required. There is a different (commercial rival) bus charging system from a company named Schunk which does have the pantograph on the bus.

[@Andrewjg_89]

Nice to see other places having greener buses including Harrogate. I do think that battery powered buses is the solution to reduce Co2 emissions and to make the environment cleaner and safer for everyone to enjoy.

[@Kingplayyyzzzzz]

Theres no such thing as buses in london aren’t allowed to reverse with drivers. When needed if it’s safe to do so they can reverse without assistance and actually 2 or 3 times I have seen buses reverse with passengers for reasons like bus infront blocking way and lots of traffic and various reasons.

[@TinCanTidy]

What is the range?

[@CitytransportInfoplus]

sorry but I do not know - one of the reasons for this day-time top up charging is to allow for fewer batteries and a shorter range (per charge) than would otherwise be needed had the buses only been charged at night

[@eastlancsesteem]

Will these be in London?

[@CitytransportInfoplus]

Not as far as I am aware, but the Schaffhausen buses seen at the end of my film will be in London, albeit in rigid rather than articulated format and using the 'pantograph down' version of opportunity charging

[@chrisstephens6673]

I had it in the back of my mind that buses were not meant to reverse with passengers on board, or is that just a London thing, if at all? Oops. Meant as a stand alone comment.

[@thomasarmstrong3804]

Virtue Signalling at it's Worst