The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) has awarded New Flyer of America a contract for 12 battery-electric, 60-foot articulated Xcelsior CHARGE NG transit buses. The electric bus order follows the 2020 order of 26 Xcelsior CNG sixty-foot transit, and is supported by Federal Transit Administration (FTA) funds.

MTS operates 95 bus routes and three light rail lines across 10 cities and unincorporated areas of San Diego County. MTS launched the region’s first zero-emissions bus pilot program in 2019, and last year set a plan in motion to convert its entire bus fleet to zero emission by 2040.

New Flyer’s Xcelsior CHARGE NG battery-electric buses provide up to 525 kWh of power and 250 miles of range on a single charge.

Additionally, Long Beach Transit (LBT) has ordered 20 next-generation battery-electric 35-foot Xcelsior CHARGE NG heavy-duty transit buses under a three-year contract. This order is also supported by Federal Transit Administration (FTA) funds.

Long Beach Transit provides public transportation to more than 23 million customers annually in southeastern Los Angeles County and northwestern Orange County. LBT plans to lower its environmental impact over the next 10 years by converting its fleet to 100% alternative fuels by the end of 2021, and to zero-emission within the next decade.

As a California transit agency, LBT must meet the California Air Resources Board’s (CARB) Innovative Clean Transit Regulation, requiring all California agencies to transition to zero-emission bus fleets by 2040.