Proterra racks up 33 more orders for electric buses through FTA Low-No awards
21 April 2016
Proterra, the market leader of zero-emission, battery-electric buses in North America, announced that SEPTA, Foothill Transit and King County Metro will use their Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Low or No Emission Vehicle Deployment Grants (Low-No) (earlier post) to purchase 33 Catalyst electric buses and charging infrastructure.
These latest orders bring Proterra’s total number of orders to 155 vehicles from 16 transit agencies across the United States. Proterra customers won 33 of the 55 buses awarded under the Low-No program.
As one of the largest transit agencies in the United States, serving 3.9 million people in five counties in and around Philadelphia, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) will receive $2,585,075 from FTA and use the funds to purchase 25 Proterra Catalyst buses and five overhead chargers. SEPTA will be procuring more zero-emission vehicles with less Low-No funding than any other grant recipient. Proterra zero-emission buses will be deployed on Routes 29 and 79 in South Philadelphia.
On the heels of completing one of the most rigorous performance tests in the industry, King County Metro Transit, serving the greater area of Seattle Washington, will now be able to electrify fully two routes using new funds from FTA’s Low-No Program for eight additional Proterra Catalyst vehicles. This award will increase KCM’s battery-electric fleet to 11 Catalyst vehicles.
Proterra’s first customer and the first agency in the US to operate EV buses in revenue service, Foothill Transit, also received Low-No grant funding that will go towards electric charging facilities and support the transit agency’s ongoing electric bus program. Foothill Transit, which serves more than 14 million customers in Los Angeles County, will be getting 13 Proterra Catalyst buses from a previous order this year, bringing Foothill’s all-electric fleet to nearly 10% of the transit agency’s total.
Good news for e-buses and Proterra!
Electric buses (all sizes) is a good way to lower GHG and pollution while reducing consumption of imported oil?
That program should be accelerated!
Posted by: HarveyD | 21 April 2016 at 09:55 AM
Cities should form a purchasing consortium and place singular large orders. This would initiate the quantities of scale that will significantly reduce the cost of new EV buses, and provide the type of economic incentive for bus companies to develop the supplier base and manufacturing capability that would assure they can reduce cost further. Unfortunately, many politicians, even city counsels are trapped in cult like loyalties to old and false ideologies developed to help the wealthy and enslave the people. Like thinking that fiscal responsibility can be found in conservativism and that the Democrats help the people.
Posted by: Brotherkenny4 | 22 April 2016 at 06:30 AM
Good idea B4.
Our Province has pooled city buses purchasing for the last 25+ years with very poor results with regards to e-buses. No real purchasing done to date. A few e-units have been tested but agreement is not easy to reach.
It seems that pooling purchasing has made the decision process much slower and probably delayed e-buses purchasing by at least 5 years.
Trying to satisfy 8+ cities requirements is not easy, even when the Province pays up to 90% of the initial acquisition cost.
We had more success with (private ownership) e-school buses with a few in service and many more coming. Of course, generous subsidies are available.
Posted by: HarveyD | 25 April 2016 at 08:45 AM