The board of De Lijn, the public transport authority and operator in Flanders, Belgium, has approved the order of 60 electric buses from Van Hool and VDL. Part of a framework agreement of 350 e-buses, this order represents yet another step towards a zero-emission fleet and accompanying infrastructures by 2035.... Read more →
The UK Government earlier this month announced that it will support five local transport authorities with funding worth nearly £71 million (US$95 million) under the Zero Emission Bus Regional Area (ZEBRA) scheme. The investment will support the introduction of up to 335 zero-emission buses. The winning authorities were: Cambridgeshire and... Read more →
Anadolu Isuzu, Turkey’s leading commercial vehicle manufacturer, and Proterra announced a new collaboration to power the new generation of Anadolu Isuzu’s all-electric Citi VOLT public transportation buses with Proterra’s commercial vehicle battery technology. Under the collaboration, Anadolu Isuzu will incorporate Proterra’s battery technology into its new 12-meter and 18-meter zero-emission... Read more →
Irizar e-mobility has been awarded a new order for 33 electric buses for the city of Stara Zagora, in the center of Bulgaria. They are the first 12 meter Irizar ie bus model electric buses to be included in the fleet of the city’s municipal operator. The operator’s choice to... Read more →
Equipmake, a commercial vehicle electrification specialist, and Spanish coachbuilder Beulas, are joining forces with Go-Ahead, London’s largest bus operator, to start in-service trials of the new Jewel E double-decker electric bus on the capital’s streets in Q1 2022. The Jewel E is powered by Equipmake’s Zero Emission Drivetrain (ZED). Featuring... Read more →
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company and the Stark Area Regional Transit Authority (SARTA) in Ohio are collaborating to test intelligent tire sensors and prototype tires on SARTA’s fleet of diesel and hydrogen fuel cell-powered (HFC) buses. The intelligent tires leverage Goodyear’s TPMS Plus on-vehicle sensors to send real-time data... Read more →
Technology supplier Freudenberg is starting the research project “HyFleet” together with ZF Friedrichshafen and FlixBus. The partners aim to develop a high-performance fuel cell system by 2024 to completely replace conventional diesel drives. They will also be examining the hybridization of electric powertrains with fuel cells and batteries. Anyone traveling... Read more →
NFI Group, a leading independent bus and coach manufacturer and a leader in electric mass mobility solutions, has expanded its partnership with North America’s largest lithium-ion battery recycler, Li-Cycle Corp., to offer heavy-duty electric vehicle battery recycling to public transit customers in North America through Li-Cycle. The partnership builds upon... Read more →
Michigan State University introduced an electric autonomous bus that will serve students, staff and faculty beginning early 2022 as part of the campus’ smart mobility ecosystem. The bus represents one of the largest electric autonomous transit vehicles to be deployed on US roadways to date. Through its collaboration with the... Read more →
California’s Foothill Transit has ordered 13 New Flyer hydrogen fuel-cell-electric Xcelsior CHARGE H2 forty-foot heavy-duty transit buses. This order is supported by Federal Transit Administration (FTA) funds. This addition to Foothill Transit’s initial order of 20 fuel cell-electric buses, announced in October, now establishes North America’s largest fleet of hydrogen... Read more →
Lightning eMotors and ABC Companies, a leading provider of motor coach, transit and specialty passenger transport equipment, announced the sale of the largest battery-electric double-decker motor coach to All Aboard America! Holdings, the fourth-largest motor coach operator in the US. The first delivery to Lux Bus America in Anaheim, CA... Read more →
The Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) has been awarded a $6-million grant by the California Energy Commission to install one of the largest electric vehicle (EV) fleet charging systems in the United States that will be powered by a solar and storage microgrid. The solar and storage microgrid paired... Read more →
Austin, Texas transit operator Capital Metro Transportation Authority has awarded NFI subsidiary New Flyer of America Inc. a contract for 26 battery-electric Xcelsior CHARGE NG forty-foot heavy-duty transit buses and four battery-electric Xcelsior CHARGE NG sixty-foot heavy-duty transit buses (34 equivalent units or EUs). The five-year contract includes options to... Read more →
Tide Bus Danmark in the Danish city of Aalborg has ordered 14 Solaris bi-articulated 24-meter electric buses. This is an unique order on an European scale, both as regards the length and specific design of the vehicles. The bi-articulated Solaris e-buses will be deployed for passenger transport in Aalborg, a... Read more →
San Mateo County Transit (SamTrans) in California has awarded New Flyer of America, a subsidiary of NFI Group, a contract for seven next-generation battery-electric Xcelsior CHARGE NG forty-foot heavy-duty transit buses. SamTrans provides transportation services throughout San Mateo County and into parts of San Francisco and Palo Alto, delivering more... Read more →
The Lion Electric Company, a manufacturer of all-electric medium- and heavy-duty urban vehicles, received a purchase order from Groupe Autocar Jeannois for 35 zero-emission LionC school buses, to be delivered over the next five years. The purchase order also includes an option for Jeannois to purchase an additional five LionC... Read more →
ElDorado National (California) or ENC, a subsidiary of REV Group, will launch its fully electric Axess bus at APTA Expo 8-10 November 2021. In addition to being the first zero-corrosion battery electric bus (BEB), it is the first to offer 40', 35' and 32' bus lengths. ENC partnered with Cummins... Read more →
The Lion Electric Company has received a conditional purchase order for 1,000 all-electric LionC school buses from Student Transportation of Canada (STC), a subsidiary of Student Transportation of America (STA), a North-American leader in student transportation, safety and fleet management services, the controlling shareholder of which is Caisse de dépôt... Read more →
The Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority of Buffalo, New York (NFTA-Metro) has issued a five-year contract to NFI subsidiary New Flyer of America, which includes a firm order for 10 Xcelsior CHARGE heavy-duty transit buses and options to purchase up to 140 additional buses. NFTA-Metro provides bus and rail transportation services... Read more →
Foxconn (Hon Hai Technology Group), a global leader in smart manufacturing, unveiled three electric vehicles in has developed in-house: the Model C recreational vehicle; the Model E sedan; and the Model T electric bus. The announcement was made during the livestreamed Hon Hai Tech Day 2021 (HHTD21) event, underlining Hon... Read more →
Cummins and GILLIG announced the production of the 100th GILLIG battery-electric bus built since the two companies began partnering on the heavy-duty transit vehicle. (Earlier post.) The milestone bus will be delivered to Metro Transit in St. Louis, Missouri this month. The companies have collaborated since 2019 to bring reliable... Read more →
An electric school bus in Beverly, Massachusetts, successfully delivered power back to the electricity grid for more than 50 hours over the course of the summer using vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology. This is the first time an electric school bus has been leveraged as an energy resource by the regional utility... Read more →
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... Read more →
The New York City Council passed a bill mandating that the city’s school bus fleet be fully electric by 1 September 2035. The bill passed with 44 votes in favor and one vote against. Mayor Bill de Blasio is expected to sign the bill into law. The replacement of school... Read more →
Clean Energy Fuels Corp. won a competitive solicitation to design, construct, and maintain a hydrogen station and supply liquid hydrogen fuel for Foothill Transit, an environmentally-friendly bus service in Southern California that averages 14 million rides a year. (Earlier post.) Being awarded our first hydrogen station and supply contract for... Read more →
New Flyer of America has received a new contract from California’s Foothill Transit for 20 zero-emission, hydrogen fuel cell- electric Xcelsior CHARGE H2 forty-foot heavy-duty transit buses. This order is supported by Federal Transit Administration (FTA) funds. Foothill Transit is based in West Covina, California, operating one of the largest... Read more →
New Flyer of America has received an order from the Golden Empire Transit District (GET bus) for five forty-foot fuel cell-electric Xcelsior CHARGE H2 heavy-duty transit buses, purchased off of the California Department of General Services (CDGS) contract. It follows a prior (2020) GET bus purchase of five forty-foot fuel... Read more →
Solaris unveiled its latest vehicle, the 9-meter low-entry Urbino 9 LE electric. Designed both for city and intercity routes, it provides an excellent link between the urban and suburban road network across conurbations. The Solaris Urbino 9 LE electric has been standardized with all other vehicles of the 4th generation.... Read more →
Volvo Buses has launched the new Volvo BZL Electric chassis, designed for both single- and double-decker applications with multiple options for bodybuilders. The new Volvo BZL Electric has been developed to be more than 90% recyclable. The new Volvo BZL Electric is based on proven and successful technologies already implemented... Read more →
Capital Metro in Austin, Texas has approved a plan to purchase 26 40-foot Proterra ZX5 Max electric transit buses, featuring a total of more than 17 megawatt hours of battery storage capacity. The plan approved by Capital Metro also contains options for the agency to acquire an additional 126 40-foot... Read more →
Wrightbus unveiled the new new single-deck GB Kite Hydroliner fuel-cell-powered bus and single-deck GB Kite Electroliner battery-powered bus last week at the Millbrook Proving Ground. The GB Kite Hydroliner is powered by a 70 kW or 100 kW Ballard FC Move fuel cell, paired with a 30 kWh or 45... Read more →
The Municipal Transport Company of Madrid (EMT Madrid) has awarded Irizar e-mobility an order for another 30 electric buses. This fourth order means that EMT Madrid will now have a total of 85 zero-emission Irizar buses in its fleet. Once again, the model chosen is the 12-meter Irizar ie bus,... Read more →
Irizar has manufactured a liquid natural gas (LNG) i4 model coach with a range of more than 1000 kilometers (621 miles) for intercity or short distance routes. This option is an addition to the range of technologies and sustainable fuels that Irizar is currently offering, including electric buses, diesel coaches,... Read more →
Ballard Power Systems launched the FCmove-HD+ fuel cell module. FCmove-HD+ is designed for buses and medium- and heavy-duty trucks, and is the latest product in Ballard’s 8th generation heavy-duty power module portfolio. Ballard has been developing a family of FCmove products since 2019 to serve the commercial vehicle market. The... Read more →
New Flyer of America has received a new contract from the Lane Transit District (LTD) in Oregon for 19 battery-electric forty-foot Xcelsior CHARGE NG heavy-duty transit buses. The order includes six depot chargers and commissioning by New Flyer Infrastructure Solutions, supporting electric bus deployment in Eugene-Springfield, Oregon, and Metro Area... Read more →
Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB), the public transport operator for the Barcelona metropolitan area has ordered 24 Solaris Urbino 12 electric buses, which will arrive by the end of 2022. The value of the contract, concluded as a result of a tender, stands at more than €12 million. The public... Read more →
Mercedes-Benz do Brasil has presented the fully electric eO500U bus chassis. The bus chassis was specially designed for Latin American cities and will be produced in São Bernardo do Campo, in the Brazilian state of São Paulo, from 2022 on. The fully electric bus chassis has a range of up... Read more →
KAMAZ has presented the KAMAZ-6290 hydrogen fuel cell bus at the COMTRANS-2021 international exhibition in Moscow. There is still a lot of work to be done. In 2022, we intend to test a prototype KAMAZ hydrogen fuel cell bus in the streets of Moscow, in the environment of actual operation.... Read more →
Loop Energy, a developer and manufacturer of hydrogen fuel cell-based solutions, is partnering with METTEM-M Ltd., a developer of vehicle control systems and systems integrator, to provide hydrogen electric powertrain solutions to commercial vehicle OEMs across Russia, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), and greater Europe. The companies’ first joint... Read more →
E-mobility specialist QUANTRON AG is preparing to launch the electric QUANTRON 12m low-floor bus. The city bus will be available in two versions: the BEV version can be ordered from the end of 2021, and the FCEV from spring 2022. The zero-emission bus will be in a similar price range... Read more →
GreenPower Motor Company Inc. has introduced the BEAST (Battery Electric Automotive School Transportation), a purpose-built, all-electric school bus. GreenPower is showcasing the BEAST at the Advanced Clean Transportation (ACT) Expo through today in Long Beach. The BEAST, a 40-foot Type D battery-electric school bus, delivers up to 150 miles on... Read more →
Collins Bus, a leading manufacturer of Type A School Buses and a subsidiary of REV Group, and Lightning eMotors announced a strategic partnership to manufacture and deploy all-electric Type A school buses. Lightning will provide all-electric powertrains including installation, and charging infrastructure products and services; the agreement includes an initial... Read more →
Alexander Dennis Limited (ADL), a subsidiary of NFI Group Inc. (NFI), one of the world’s leading independent global bus manufacturers, has been selected by the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority as supplier for 20 zero-emission hydrogen double deck buses following a competitive tendering process. This is the first order for... Read more →
HEAG mobilo, a transport operator in Darmstadt, Germany, is planning to replace almost its entire bus fleet with vehicles that are 100% electrically driven in the next four years. As a step toward that goal, 24 fully-electric Mercedes-Benz city buses have officially begun operations. The battery technology of the 24... Read more →
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency’s (SFMTA) Municipal Railway (Muni) has awarded a contract to ElDorado for 30 electric hybrid E-Z Rider II model heavy-duty 30-foot transit buses, which will feature the Allison H 40 EP hybrid propulsion system. Allison Transmission’s H 40/50 EP Series is a two-mode parallel hybrid... Read more →
In advance of next week’s Advanced Clean Transportation (ACT) Expo, Octillion Power Systems announced that bus operators have driven 20 million kilometers powered by its lithium-ion batteries. Octillion is a global supplier of advanced high-density lithium-ion battery packs for passenger cars, trucks, buses, and energy-storage systems. The company has operations... Read more →
Canada-based Loop Energy, a developer and manufacturer of hydrogen fuel cell-based solutions, announced the placement of the order for the first eFlow-powered hydrogen fuel cell systems (earlier post) under a commercial agreement with NGVI, a South Korean-based manufacturer of turn-key compressed natural gas and hydrogen fuel systems for transit and... Read more →
Hydro-Québec, Canada’s largest electricity producer, has launched a pilot project with Autobus Groupe Séguin, a Québec-based, family-owned company that operates in the field of school and chartered transportation, to support the electrification of school buses. Autobus Groupe Séguin ordered 60 electric school buses in early 2021. The pilot project includes... Read more →
Ricardo has received UK Government funding to create a retrofit hydrogen fuel cell bus demonstrator for the UK’s first hydrogen transport hub in the north-east of England. To demonstrate progress with its national hydrogen strategy, the UK Government launched the Tees Valley Hydrogen Hub, and initiated the Hydrogen Transport Hub... Read more →
Micro Bird Holdings, a Blue Bird and bus distributor Girardin joint venture and North American market leader in the Type A school bus market, has acquired a controlling interest in the EV drivetrain integrator and supplier GranTuned Automobiles (Ecotuned). This strategic acquisition firmly positions Micro Bird for substantial growth in... Read more →