CUSTOMER STORIES

First Electric Minibus for Essex County Council

Essex County Council in the UK has purchased the first Smith Edison 17 seat all-electric minibus.

Based on the Ford Transit chassis, the Smith Edison minibus has a top speed of 50mph (80km/h) and a range of up to 80 miles (128km). A full recharge takes 6-8 hours, or 3-4 hours with Smith’s new fast charging technology.
Essex County Council has deployed the minibus for passenger transport, serving people with learning disabilities, in the Harlow area.

“Essex County Council takes sustainable transport very seriously and we want to show our residents how we can all reduce the environmental impact of our traveling.

We are proud to be leading the way in the adoption of new electric passenger vehicle technology and to be the first local authority to put this innovative minibus into service. ”

Essex County Council’s Yvonne Chappell, Head of Fleet Transport and Operations

Smith utilises an under-slung battery module design, so that the 40 kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack does not impinge on the passenger area of the vehicle.

Designed for urban operations, the Edison minibus is targeted at applications such as airport passenger transfer, tourist attractions, city trips and closed campus travel on large commercial, military, education and industrial sites.