Two new electric sea buses for La Rochelle in 2009

Description:

Two brand new ‘bus de mer' will enter service in January 2009, and they will use state of the art solar powered electricity to power the boat between the old port and the Les Minimes marina.

The new boats will have an increased capacity over their older sister ‘le passeur', with dimensions of 15 metres by 5 metres they will be able to carry up to 75 people, rather than 30.  They will sail on a catamaran hull and will allow passengers to travel in a more sheltered environment, with quieter operation free from mechanical vibration.

The boats will have a range of 70km from their two electric motors, and batteries will re-charge every time the boat is docked, by virtue of 20 square meters of solar panels.  They will use the equivalent of two euros per day in electricity, with an operational cost of around 7 euros per hour, compared with the 10 to 15 litres of diesel that a conventional boat uses per hour.

In 2007, 204,000 passengers used the sea bus service in La Rochelle.  The first new boat will enter service in January, with the second following 2 months later.