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Only more expensive in terms of the initial purchase price. Maintenance and energy costs are much lower than for a gasoline bus.

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Until you have to change the battery a few years later and it’s cheaper to buy a new bus.

Actually, this is an interesting point.

Batteries tend to have a max charge/discharge cycle. Unlike a consumer car, buses see a lot more distance. I wonder how much more quickly the batteries go.

AIUI, as EV fleets age, we're learning that it's the depth of charge and discharge that degrades batteries, not the total power throughput. Staying within 20% and 80% makes most of the difference to longevity. Additionally, they seem to degrade to about 80% of original capacity and then plateau, and are generally lasting much longer than initially expected.

The lithium doesn't escape from a battery like it does from a gas tank.

I would expect a large scale operator to recover a lot of money from the sale of those rare earth minerals.

Large or small operator, the recovery amount will be a tiny fraction of the overall battery pack cost. Recycling isn't free, and costs, and assemble + profit margins at both ends.

In short, you're diverting "how often" to "meh, who cares, they're recyclable", without any validation that it negates the cost.

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