Proterra to deliver 3 electric transit buses and charging station to StarMetro in Florida
04 October 2011
Proterra has signed an agreement with StarMetro, the transit provider in Tallahassee, Fla., to deliver three new EcoRide zero-emission transit buses and a charging station. (Earlier post.) The contract stems from a Federal Transit Administration (FTA) grant received by StarMetro to pursue fast-charge, electric transit buses and charging stations.
Six other urban transit agencies received similar FTA grants. Foothill Transit in Pomona, Calif., is already operating three EcoRide buses and VIA San Antonio Transit will be deploying its EcoRide buses later this year. The four other agencies that will be issuing requests for proposal are Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) in Reno, Nev.; King County Metro Transit in Seattle, Wash.; Chicago Transit Authority; and Fresno Area Express (FAX) in Fresno, Calif.
Proterra’s systems offer California transit agencies a way to address the Zero Emission Bus (Zbus) rule, which requires large California agencies to purchase 15% of their annual bus orders as zero-emission buses starting in 2012.
Proterra will manufacture the new orders at its current assembly line plant in Greenville, S.C. Proterra and StarMetro plan to have the buses in service by the spring of 2012.
General Motors Ventures LLC invested $6 million in Proterra earlier this year. (Earlier post.)
Excellent! These guys have an unlimited future.
Posted by: Reel$$ | 04 October 2011 at 01:11 PM
This electric buses are first generation and we should not expect performances to be equal or superior to the latest diesel powered units.
Batteries will be improved every odd year or so. More or better e-motors can be used. Roof top high efficiency solar cells could help to procure power for the air-conditioning system. Recent ultra caps could help with high take off power and increased braking power recovery.
Three things seem to be confirmed, i.e 3x to 5x higher over all efficiency than diesel ICE units and a lot less pollution and noise. That should be enough to offset higher initial cost.
Posted by: HarveyD | 04 October 2011 at 07:28 PM