RSID: <<2025-11-147T00:31Z MFSK-32 @ 9265000+1500>>
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Welcome to program 426 of Shortwave Radiogram.

I'm Kim Andrew Elliott in Arlington, Virginia USA.

Here is the lineup for today's program, in MFSK modes as noted:

  1:44 MFSK32: Program preview (now)
  2:54 MFSK32: Electric buses cost effective even in winter
10:15 MFSK64: Kansas City free buses attracted new riders
14:15 MFSK64: This week's images
27:51 MFSK32: Closing announcements


 

Please send reception reports to radiogram@verizon.net

And visit http://swradiogram.net

We're on Bluesky now: SWRadiogram.bsky.social

And X/Twitter: @SWRadiogram
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From Concordia University (Montreal):

   Montreal's electric buses use more energy in winter but are still
   more cost-effective than diesel

by Patrick Lejtenyi
November 11, 2025

The Société de transport de Montréal (STM), the city's urban
transit authority, plans to make its network completely electric
by 2040 by adding 140 electric buses to its fleet annually to
meet this target. It's an ambitious goal, made more challenging
by the extreme swings in the city's weather every year.

The city's cold winters make serious demands on battery electric
buses (BEBs). Keeping temperatures comfortable for passengers,
accounting for stop-and-go city traffic and managing icy roads
are important factors the agency must consider when forecasting
its energy consumption as it transitions away from gas-powered
vehicles.

A new Concordia-led study provides empirical evidence on how cold
weather affects BEB performance while offering data-driven
insights into how Montreal and other cities can keep the buses
running efficiently year-round.

The research, published in Transportation Research Part D:
Transport and Environment, is based on more than 66,000 data
points supplied by the STM from 40 electric buses operating
across 56 routes in Montreal. The real-world operational data
allowed the team to assess how factors like temperature, traffic
and driving patterns influence energy use, regenerative braking
and operating costs.

"Most studies on electric buses have focused on temperate
regions, but cold weather introduces unique challenges," says
primary author Xuelin Tian, who completed her Ph.D. at Concordia
this year. Tian is now a postdoctoral fellow at Université Laval
in Quebec City.

"We already had a relationship with the STM. Thanks to our
previous research, we were able to partner with them for an
in-depth analysis of their operational data."

Lower costs despite winter demands

Unsurprisingly, the study found energy consumption was highest
during the winter months, while efficiency was highest during the
summer. Energy use peaked at 1.7 kilowatt hours per kilometer
(kWh/km) in winter. That figure was roughly 26% higher than in
summer, when smoother traffic flow and lower heating and other
energy demands helped reduce consumption to 1.4 kWh/km. Spring
and autumn fell in between these seasonal extremes.

The researchers also studied regenerative braking, the system
that captures energy during deceleration and feeds it back into
the battery. Montreal's BEBs recovered an average 45.8% of their
braking energy—a figure that rises to more than 50% in the
summer.

They performed worst in February, when only 32% of braking energy
was recovered. This outcome was due to lowered battery efficiency
and icy roads, which forced drivers to rely on traditional
friction brakes. Regenerative brakes worked best when the buses
were moving at moderate speeds, between 30 to 50 kilometers per
hour.

Overall, however, the researchers found that electric buses are
far more economical than diesel or hybrid vehicles. Operating
costs for electric buses averaged 40 to 60% lower than their
diesel counterparts, potentially saving the agency up to $3,500 a
day for comparable routes.

"These results can provide improvements in operation planning by
optimizing charging strategies, adjusting route lengths and
balancing fleet usage," Tian says.

"Aside from helping the STM improve efficiency for their service,
our study provides the kind of evidence-based results that can
inform future pilot programs in other cities."

https://www.concordia.ca/news/stories/2025/11/11/montreals-electric-buses-use-more-energy-in-winter-but-are-still-ore-cost-effective-than-diesel.html

See also:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S136192092500344X

Sending Pic:202x115C;




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Shortwave Radiogram now changes to MFSK64 ...


RSID: <<2025-11-147T00:40Z MFSK-64 @ 9265000+1500>>
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This is Shortwave Radiogram in MFSK64

Please send your reception report to radiogram@verizon.net
 

From the University of Kansas

Study finds Kansas City fare-free bus policy attracted new
riders, increased overall use

by Mike Krings
November 10, 2025

Every campaign season, politicians debate the potential benefits
and drawbacks of making public transit free. New research from
the University of Kansas has found that when Kansas City made its
bus service fare-free in 2020, it not only attracted new riders
but also increased overall bus use for many. These changes have
the potential to enhance mobility and quality of life,
particularly for people from historically marginalized
communities.

In 2020, the bistate Kansas City Area Transit Authority (KCATA)
implemented a Zero-Fare policy. It had previously offered free
service or discounts to veterans and high school students, but
the new policy was unique.

"Kansas City wanted to sustain the fare-free policy for good,
which set them apart," said Joel Mendez, assistant professor of
public affairs & administration at KU and study author. "At that
time, Kansas City was the largest metro area in the world to
implement fare-free transit. This study looks at what effects
this kind of policy can have on mobility."

To determine those effects, Mendez surveyed more than 500 Kansas
City transit users at bus stops throughout the metro service area
about how the policy influenced their ridership habits. The
surveys were conducted in 2023, allowing time for the policy to
take effect.

Findings indicate that the policy successfully attracted new
riders, as 17% of respondents stated that they started using bus
service because it became free. Younger people and women were
particularly likely to be new riders. This aligns with broader
U.S. trends showing that women and younger populations already
use public transit more frequently.

Also more likely to become new bus users are white residents, who
were more than twice as likely to become new users when compared
to users of color. This is significant as this segment of the
population is generally less likely to use bus service. This
reflects how the implementation of a fare-free policy can help
transit service providers strengthen their core ridership base
while also expanding it, Mendez noted.

Of those surveyed, almost 40% of preexisting bus users reported
increasing the frequency of trips after fares were eliminated.
While that suggests fares were a barrier to some, a majority of
preexisting users reported not increasing their usage. That is
likely due to several factors, such as people already maximizing
their usage or the presence of barriers such as limited access to
bus stops, inconvenient schedules or safety concerns, but would
require more research to confirm, Mendez said.

Overall, bus use increased across varying personal
characteristics such as age, race, income and vehicle access.
Notably, new users without access to a working vehicle made 4.88
more trips per week than those who did have vehicle access. These
findings highlight the equity implications of the zero-fare
policy, suggesting it has a particularly strong impact on people
who typically experience limited mobility.

The study was published in the journal Transport Policy.

Kansas City is a unique place to implement fare-free transit, as
it is a geographically large, spread-out metropolitan area and
KCATA serves seven counties in a traditionally-automobile
dependent region. While no two regions are exactly alike, the
study results from Kansas City can help inform transit policy in
other locations.

"I can argue that if we see these benefits in a sprawling area
like Kansas City, they could be amplified in a denser region,"
Mendez said.

The KCATA announced in spring 2025 that fares would be
reinstated, although it is unclear for how long. At the same
time, officials are exploring the long-term feasibility of
maintaining a fare-free service. Mendez is conducting further
research to address questions such as if the fare-free policy
helped combat social exclusion, specifically if people had better
access to resources like employment and health care. He is also
studying if bus users' saving and spending habits changed because
of fare elimination and how the policy influenced user experience
like bus overcrowding, the system's on-time performance and if
complaints about transit declined.

The current study's findings show a permanent fare-free policy is
worth consideration among city leaders, Mendez said.

"The policy not only increased bus use but also broadened the
user base to include people who don't typically rely on transit,"
Mendez said. "That shift can generate greater political support
for fare-free transit, potentially leading to increased
government funding and wider public backing for such policies."

https://news.ku.edu/news/article/study-finds-kansas-city-fare-free-bus-policy-attracted-new-riders-increased-overall-use
 

See also:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0967070X25004032
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This is Shortwave Radiogram in MFSK64

Please send your reception report to radiogram@verizon.net
 

This week's images ...
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Clockwise from top: Charlie, Harry and Daxten, the dogs of Aaron
Atteberry @pdxh0b0.bsky.social, friend and supporter of Shortwave
Radiogram. tinyurl.com/2ajkxuv9 ...

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Autumn color at Professors' Square, University of Glasgow.
tinyurl.com/24q3qbsl ...

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A recent rosefinch in Japan. tinyurl.com/22ay5p57 ...

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Aurora caused by same solar storm that disrupted shortwave
reception this past week seen at Albemarle County, Virginia,
November 11. tinyurl.com/24e2gatc ...

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A "neighborhood Ginkgo tree" in Oakton, Virginia, showing autumn
color, November 11. tinyurl.com/2av2ssqq ...

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An autumn leaf at Malling Deanery Arboretum near Lewes, East
Sussex, England, November 9. tinyurl.com/2ckv9nl3 ...

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A golden grass seed head in late afternoon sun at Martin Dies Jr.
State Park, Texas. tinyurl.com/2dlg67g8 ...

Sending Pic:198x123C;


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Our painting of the week is "November Heights" by Wojciech Krupa
(German, b. 1966). tinyurl.com/2d4jwgob ...

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Shortwave Radiogram returns to MFSK32 ...


 

RSID: <<2025-11-14T00:58Z MFSK-32 @ 9265000+1500>>


This is Shortwave Radiogram in MFSK32 ...


Transmission of Shortwave Radiogram is provided by:

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and

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Please send reception reports to radiogram@verizon.net

And visit http://swradiogram.net

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X/Twitter (for now): @SWRadiogram

I'm Kim Elliott. Please join us for the next Shortwave
Radiogram.
 

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