VAIL — For a few weeks this year, four largely silent buses will ferry passengers between the town’s soccer fields and the west end of Lionshead Village.
The tests — for about five days per bus — are being run to determine how fully electric buses perform on what officials call the in-town routes.
The tests started the week of Monday, March 19, when a bus from manufacturer BYD was in town. In addition to working on the town’s regular routes, the vehicle was also used to bring Vail Town Council members and other officials from town hall out to the town’s bus barn and shops.
The trip was uneventful — and quiet. Passengers could talk in normal tones, and talking to people at the rear of the bus required little more vocal volume than would be required to talk across a large room.
While the bus has various pumps and compressors that make exterior noise from time to time, when rolling purely on battery power, the bus is eerily silent.
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