Phileas is a bus rapid transit, developed by Samenwerkingsverband Regio Eindhoven, Netherlands, along with some other companies for the Cooperation Foundation Eindhoven Region. It is an advanced guided bus intended to deliver tram-like public transport at a very low cost: the infrastructure is much cheaper, because of less maintenance, and there are no rails and overhead lines. The project was initiated in 1998 to keep knowledge about technology and innovation in the region and create jobs. The biggest feature of the bus is the recharging of the battery by means of electromagnetic induction; which means that the battery can be made much smaller, and thus less heavy and environmentally damaging. The project started in the late 1990s; there was a wish to demonstrate the high technology level and technical knowledge in the Eindhoven area and to create jobs. The project has cost more than two billion euros, including infrastructure changes.
The Phileas mainly drives on a bus lane, following a pre-programmed route defined by magnets built into the road. The FROG technique used allowed driverless operation, though in fact for legal reasons a driver is always present - the budget prevented the Phileas from being completely separated from ordinary traffic. However several years ago the regional authority for urban transport in Eindhoven decided to stop using the magnetic guidance system.
Safety
The computer system inside the Phileas buses is designed according to Safety Integrity Level SIL-4. It controls the vehicle's speed and direction and has a triple-redundant, fail-safe architecture. This means that one system consists of three single-board computers in a 2-out-of-3 configuration. Each is installed in a different place in the bus, so as to avoid a complete system failure in case of a vehicle collision. Every single computer obtains data from all sensors via two CAN bus connections and compares them with the other two computers' results. In case of data mismatch, the bus is switched off and the entire system goes into safe state, which means that the bus stops and opens its doors.
License
On 3 November 2005 a license & technology transfer agreement was signed between Advanced Public Transport Systems and the Korea Railroad Research Institute. KRRI developed the Korean version of Phileas vehicle by May 2011. In December 2009, APTS, the manufacturer of the Phileas Tram, signed a contract with Ballard Fuel Cells of Vancouver to supply zero emission engines for the Phileas. The Phileas Trams are in successful operation in the Netherlands, Turkey, Korea and Israel. They were also in use for a time in Douai in France, but persistent unreliability led to their replacement by traditional articulated buses just 4 years after their introduction.
Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality purchased 50 Phileas bi-articulated vehicles for the Metrobus project. Due to overcrowding on vehicles, and the hilly terrain of Istanbul, the Phileas bus needed modifications to the axles. Changes were made to accommodate the higher passenger traffic.
