Skeleton Technologies is partnering with Wrightbus to supply its next-generation high-energy ultracapacitor modules to power fuel-cell buses in the UK. The ultracapacitors’ two-times higher energy density is enabled by Skeleton’s latest material technology innovation, making them a valuable addition to hydrogen fuel cells in emissions-free transportation. Since fuel cells are... Read more →

Proterra announced a $200-million investment led by Cowen Sustainable Advisors LLC (CSI) along with supporting investments from Soros Fund Management, Generation Investment Management, and Broadscale Group. The new investment comprises $150 million from CSI and investments totaling $50 million from Soros Fund Management, Generation Investment Management, and Broadscale Group. The... Read more →

New Flyer of America announced that Knoxville Area Transit (KAT) has awarded New Flyer a contract for twelve zero-emission, battery-electric thirty five-foot heavy-duty transit buses, with options to purchase up to 13 additional zero-emission buses in thirty-five or forty-foot lengths throughout the remaining term of the five-year agreement. This contract... Read more →

School bus manufacturer Blue Bird Corporation has seen a surge in demand for their 100% electric school buses since their introduction in 2018. While a majority of these buses have been sold in California, the interest in electric is nation-wide, with buses being deployed all over the country. Phil Horlock,... Read more →

build the next generation Bustech XDi low floor transit bus using Cummins battery-electric and hydrogen-fuel-cell technologies. The agreement provides for initial units to be developed for both battery-electric and fuel-cell electric, with plans to ramp up production in late 2021 and early 2022, respectively. We have leveraged Cummins diesel technology... Read more →

The Metropole Rennes has signed a declaration of intention to buy 92 Mercedes-Benz eCitaro fully electric city buses. The planned order consists of 59 articulated and 33 solo buses. They are due to be delivered between 2022 and 2025. This marks the largest order outside of Germany for the Mercedes-Benz... Read more →

Loop Energy, a hydrogen fuel cell company providing solutions for the commercial vehicle markets, announced that Skywell New Energy Vehicles Group (Skywell) received index approval from China’s Ministry of Industry & Information and Technology (MIIT) for a zero-emission public transport bus powered by Loop Energy’s fuel cell systems. Manufactured with... Read more →

BYD has entered the Finnish market for the first time after securing an order for 106 buses with Nobina, one of Finland’s and Scandinavia’s largest Public Transport Operators (PTOs). The order, the largest ever for eBuses in Finland, includes 64 units for Nobina services in Helsinki and 42 units for... Read more →

CTS (Compagnie des Transports Strasbourgeois) in France has ordered 49 electric zero-emission 12-m Irizar ie new generation buses. These environmentally friendly buses will contribute to the electrification of the Strasbourg bus network. The vehicles will have 3 doors, 23 seats (4 of which are for people with reduced mobility) and... Read more →

Operator Miejski Zakład Komunikacji (MZK) in Toruń, Poland, has bought six Solaris electric buses. The vehicles, which will enter into service in about 18 months, will be recharged by day using fast pantograph chargers deployed in three locations in the city; at night they will be charged at the bus... Read more →

Solaris Bus & Coach has signed a contract with public transport operator Freiburger Verkehrs AG for the supply of 15 electric buses: five 12-meter Solaris Urbino 12 electric and ten 18-meter articulated Urbino 18 electric. The commissioned Urbino will be equipped with Solaris High Power batteries. Batteries with a total... Read more →

Communities throughout California can now purchase all-electric shuttle buses and ADA-equipped vans from Lightning Systems on a new California Association for Coordinated Transportation (CALACT) cooperative purchasing contract. City and county governments, transportation agencies, as well as nonprofits, can order all-electric Class 3 to 5 passenger buses under the program. Vehicles... Read more →

Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality, in partnership with ElectReon and Dan Bus Company, has launched a pilot project to install wireless electric roads for charging public transportation in the city. The pilot, the first of its kind in Israel, will be carried out between Tel Aviv University Railway Station and Klatzkin Terminal... Read more →

Irizar e-mobility has signed a new contract with the Municipal Transport Company of Madrid (EMT Madrid) to supply 20 electric 12-meter Irizar ie buses. This is the third order from EMT Madrid for Irizar electric vehicles. The contract also includes the supply of 20 interoperable chargers, developed and manufactured by... Read more →

Solaris has won a tender announced by the public transport operator Miejski Zakład Komunikacyjny (MZK) in Piła for the supply of five Urbino 12 electric buses including the charging infrastructure. The deliveries will be completed in April 2022. The charging infrastructure includes three stationary plug-in chargers, a pantograph charging station... Read more →

The city of Houston is set to receive the first Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS), Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and Buy America-compliant mid-size autonomous bus in the US. Jointly developed by Phoenix Motorcars and EasyMile, the EZ Zeus self-driving bus will be deployed in real-life traffic conditions. Furthering... Read more →

Enel X, the Enel Group’s advanced energy services business line, has been awarded two grants by the Accelerating Clean Transportation Now (ACTNow) program through the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC). The grants will support the development of public transportation electrification in the Commonwealth and coincide with the company’s entrance into... Read more →

Proterra introduced its newest battery-electric transit vehicle: the Proterra ZX5 electric bus. The ZX5 bus, Proterra’s fifth-generation battery-electric transit vehicle, features a new streamlined vehicle design and maximizes the amount of energy that can be stored on board the vehicle to increase power and range. The 40-foot Proterra ZX5 can... Read more →

Representatives of the City of Szczecin and of Solaris Bus & Coach have signed a contract for the purchase of 8 Urbino 18 electric buses. The electric buses will be delivered to Szczecin by the end of September 2021. The contract is worth PLN 32 million (nearly €8 million). The... Read more →

The all-new Mercedes-Benz Intouro inter-city and excursion coach features pioneering optional assistance systems such as Active Brake Assist 5 (an emergency braking assistance system) and Sideguard Assist. The Mercedes-Benz Intouro, the new overland bus, is the first bus to feature the unique emergency braking assistance system Active Brake Assist 5... Read more →

Worldwide, Daimler battery-electric trucks and buses have already logged more than seven million customer kilometers (4.3 million miles). As part of its electrification strategy, Daimler Trucks plans to offer electric vehicles in all its main sales regions by 2022: from the FUSO eCanter in the light-duty segment, the Freightliner eM2... Read more →

Verkehr und Wasser GmbH (VWG) in Oldenburg, Germany has acquired 15 new MAN Lion’s City 12 G EfficientHybrid natural gas buses. The new buses have a crankshaft starter generator on board that converts braking recuperation energy into electrical energy. When the new MAN buses brake, then that is a real... Read more →

Volvo Buses and Stena Recycling subsidiary Batteryloop are collaborating on second-life applications for batteries from Volvo electric buses. After the batteries are removed from Volvo’s buses, they will be reused as energy storage units for a number of years, for example in buildings and charging stations. Volvo Buses is one... Read more →

The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is now operating the largest fleet of electric buses in North America. The milestone comes as the TTC’s third new electric bus model is now road ready and starting to go into service. Our government’s investment in the TTC’s electric bus pilot program is a... Read more →

Solaris is introducing the Solaris Urbino mild hybrid. The first Urbino hybrid was displayed in 2006. Back then, Solaris was the first European producer offering a serially produced bus with a hybrid (diesel-electric) drive. New generations of hybrid buses have been part of Solaris’ offer ever since. However, the mild... Read more →

BYD announced that its participation in a California-wide purchasing contract will also allow US transit agencies to leverage California’s purchase power to buy US-built zero-emission BYD battery-electric motor coaches, made by union employees in Lancaster, California. California selected three models for the contract, which is administered by the California Department... Read more →

Toyota Motor Corporation and Honda R&D Co., Ltd. will create a mobile power generation/output system—Moving e—that comprises a fuel cell bus that can carry a large amount of hydrogen; portable external power output devices; and portable batteries. The partners will begin demonstration testing of the system’s ability to deliver electricity... Read more →

BYD delivered the first electric bus fleet for public transport in the Caribbean, opening up an exciting new chapter in the region’s efforts to tackle climate change. The Barbados Transport Board recently received 33 BYD battery-electric buses and two more of the 30-foot buses will be delivered by December. The... Read more →

Allison Transmission, the largest global manufacturer of medium- and heavy-duty fully automatic transmissions and a supplier of commercial vehicle propulsion solutions, including electric hybrid and fully electric propulsion systems, launched its new zero-emission-vehicle (ZEV)-capable electric hybrid system, the eGen Flex, as the initial product offering under its new Allison eGen... Read more →

The operator Miejskie Przedsiębiorstwo Komunikacji (MPK) in Radom, Poland has ordered 9 additional Solaris Urbino 12 electric with the pertinent charging infrastructure. Worth nearly 28.5 million PLN (US$7.7 million), the contract will be carried out by mid-July 2021. This year, ten Solaris electric buses have made it to Radom. Apart... Read more →

Public transport operator Przedsiębiorstwo Komunikacji Miejskiej (PKM) in Sosnowiec, Poland is buying more electric Solaris buses. The contract covers the delivery of 9 Urbino 12 electric buses and 5 articulated Urbino 18 electric buses, including the charging infrastructure. The buses will join the three other Solaris electric buses which have... Read more →

Hamburger Hochbahn AG has launched a tender for the delivery of up to 50 fuel cell buses for the years 2021 to 2025. The invitation to tender consists of four lots. Hochbahn will purchase both pure fuel cell hybrid buses and battery-electric buses in which the fuel cell serves as... Read more →

Hamburger Hochbahn—one of the biggest public transport carriers in Germany—has announced the list of potential suppliers of 530 electric buses to be delivered between 2021-2125. The approved suppliers are Daimler Buses, MAN and Solaris. The vehicles will be orderd in tranches over the next 5 years. Daimler Buses will be... Read more →

Australia-based Bustech and Proterra announced a new collaboration to manufacture Bustech’s all-electric ZDi 12.5-meter transit bus utilizing Proterra’s battery technology platform. The partnership marks Proterra’s entry into the Australian market and will be the company’s first Proterra Powered battery electric vehicle operating outside North America. Under the partnership, Bustech will... Read more →

BOGESTRA (Bochum-Gelsenkirchener Straßenbahnen) and HCR (Straßenbahn Herne-Castrop-Rauxel), two of Germany’s leading Public Transport Operators (PTOs), have taken delivery of the first vehicle in a joint fleet order for 22 electric buses from BYD. Despite the recent COVID-19 lockdown restrictions, deliveries remain on schedule for completion in October 2020. As a... Read more →

New Flyer and Allison Transmission, the largest global manufacturer of medium- and heavy-duty fully automatic transmissions and a supplier of commercial vehicle propulsion solutions, including electric hybrid and fully electric propulsion systems, will deliver 50 Allison electric hybrid equipped buses to the largest transit authority in the US, New York... Read more →

The representatives of the management board of public transport operator Miejskie Zakłady Autobusowe (MZA) in Warsaw and Solaris signed a contract for the delivery of 70 low-floor city buses. The vehicles will run on CNG. The total value of the contract is more than PLN 116 million (US$31 million). MZA... Read more →

The Romanian city of Ploiești has opted for 20 low-floor Solaris Trollino 12 trolleybuses. According to the contract worth PLN 36 million (US$9.6 million), the vehicles will have been delivered within two years from the signing date. The trolleybus network launched in Ploiești in 1997 is the newest of all... Read more →

Edmonton Transit Service (ETS) unveiled its first 21 Proterra electric buses and brand-new, purpose-built electric bus garages. ETS has 19 more Proterra buses on the way this year to make up a 40-bus fleet, one of the largest purchases of electric buses in Canadian history. With this deployment, ETS also... Read more →

Optimal Electric Vehicles, LLC. (Optimal-EV) is entering electric vehicle manufacturing with the battery-electric S1LF Low-Floor Shuttle Bus. The S1LF integrates a quasi-purpose-built Ford E450 chassis platform, which has been fully optimized with the vehicle body and achieves a low step-in height without kneeling the suspension. Optimal Electric Vehicles, LLC. is... Read more →

Solaris will supply 29 electric buses to Offenbach am Main. This is the second biggest order from Germany for electric buses made by Solaris. The 140,000-strong city of Offenbach, located in the German state of Hesse, ordered 20 twelve-meter Solaris Urbino 12 electric and 9 eighteen-meter, articulated Solaris Urbino 18... Read more →

Representatives of the municipal operator MZK Malbork (Poland) and Solaris Bus & Coach S.A. signed a contract for the delivery of six electric buses. Newly commissioned Urbino 12 electric buses will start the electrification of the city’s public transport. Emission-free buses will make it to Malbork in September 2021 at... Read more →

The Egenberger bus company in Thierhaupten, Germany has taken delivery of two Mercedes-Benz eCitaro electric buses. The Mercedes-Benz eCitaro features 2 x electric hub motor, 2 x 125 kW, 2 x 485 N·m, 12 HV battery modules, 24 kWh per HV battery module, Preventive Brake Assist, Sideguard Assist, length/width/height: 12135/2550/3400... Read more →

Motiv Power Systems, a sustainable technology company delivering all-electric chassis with a proven software platform for the electrification of medium-duty trucks and buses, announced the deployment of its first electric trolley with the Town of Estes Park in Colorado, with one more planned. The Town operates a free shuttle service... Read more →

Solaris Bus & Coach S.A. has delivered two Urbino 12 electric buses to the city of Würzburg, Germany. It is the first delivery performed for the operator NVG Omnibus-Betriebs-GmbH. It is the first time that the customer has opted for battery vehicles. Solaris is also providing the charging infrastructure—two stationary... Read more →

The hydrogen bus Solaris Urbino 12 hydrogen is being tested again in Austria. After successful test runs in Vienna in June, the bus was handed over to the Dr. Richard Group, the largest private bus operator in Austria, which presented the vehicle in St. Pölten on 7 July 2020. The... Read more →

AMPLY Power (earlier post) is managing the charging of electric buses for SolTrans, a public transportation provider for south Solano County, California. Unique to this application, AMPLY is operating its cloud-based software in conjunction with the fueling of SolTrans buses that run on Compressed Natural Gas (CNG). Soltran’s Operations and... Read more →

Ballard Power Systems has received a $7.7-million purchase order for membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) for use in manufacturing FCvelocity-9SSL fuel cell stacks from Guangdong Synergy Ballard Hydrogen Power Co., Ltd. (Synergy-Ballard JVCo), a joint venture in which Ballard holds a 10% ownership interest. Ballard FCvelocity-9SSL fuel cell stacks (CNW Group/Ballard... Read more →

The first electric school bus in Poland will carry children to classes in Godzianów near Łódź. The purchase of the electric school bus was subsidized by NFOŚiGW (the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management). Solaris will supply the electric bus to the Municipality of Godzianów in October this... Read more →

New York City Transit Authority has selected BAE Systems to supply 435 electric hybrid power and propulsion systems for its new fleet of transit buses, reducing carbon emissions and fuel consumption. The Series-E systems will be produced at BAE’s manufacturing facilities in Endicott, New York, which provide more than 1,300... Read more →