The first of 130 Solaris electric buses (earlier post), a Solaris Urbino 18 electric bus, no. 5870, has been deployed in Warsaw. Since the beginning of the year, Warsaw has been delivered electric buses under the contract that Solaris secured in July last year. Each of the 130 articulated, electric... Read more →

New York’s State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) announced that more than $24 million is now available to replace diesel-powered transit buses with new all-electric transit buses. As part of the state’s $127.7-million allocation of the federal Volkswagen Settlement,... Read more →

Solaris has secured another contract for the delivery of electric buses on the Polish market. The city of Bolesławiec has ordered two electric 8.9m buses and two stationary chargers. Worth a gross of nearly 4.8 million PLN (US$1.1 million), the contract will be carried out in February 2021. Two Urbino... Read more →

Solaris Bus & Coach S.A. has ordered 25 of Ballard’s new 70 kilowatt heavy-duty FCmove HD fuel cell modules. These 25 modules will power 15 Solaris Urbino 12 hydrogen buses planned for deployment in Cologne, Germany and 10 Urbino 12 hydrogen buses planned for deployment in Wuppertal, Germany, all under... Read more →

Lane Transit District (LTD) in Oregon has awarded New Flyer a contract for 11 Xcelsior CHARGE battery-electric forty-foot heavy-duty transit buses, including seven ABB depot chargers to support electric bus infrastructure development. The zero-emission bus purchase was supported by Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Low or No- Emission funding. LTD has... Read more →

Coach Atlantic Maritime Bus is the first to test MCI’s first all-electric coach—the MCI D45 CRTe LE CHARGE, designed for long-range express routes—in Canada. MCI D45 CRTe LE CHARGE MCI and Coach Atlantic Maritime Bus will pair for a 9-11 March demonstration tour on Maritime Bus regular routes, inviting passengers... Read more →

California’s Lower-Emission School Bus Program (LESBP) is a grant program that provides funds to purchase new buses to replace old, high-emitting public school buses, and to equip in-use diesel school buses with retrofit devices that significantly reduce toxic particulate matter emissions. The primary goal of the Lower-Emission School Bus Program... Read more →

Highland Electric Transportation has selected Thomas Built Buses Inc.’s Saf-T-Liner C2 Jouley electric school bus powered by Proterra electric vehicle technology (earlier post) and the Proterra 60kW charging system for deployment with the Beverly Public Schools, in Beverly, Massachusetts. The project represents the first all-electric school bus in Beverly and... Read more →

Irizar e-mobility will provide nine 18-meter (59-foot) articulated electric buses to In-de-City-Bus GmbH (ICB) Frankfurt (Germany), in addition to nine interoperable slow charge stations for their garages. With 560 kWh of stored energy and a range of 220 to 250 km (137 to 155 miles), the latest generation of Iriziar... Read more →

BAE Systems has been selected by Alexander Dennis Limited (ADL) and the Republic of Ireland’s National Transport Authority (NTA) to supply up to 600 electric power and propulsion systems for its new fleet of buses in Ireland. The selection includes an initial order for 100 systems. The Series-ER system (earlier... Read more →

The Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District (MTD) has awarded New Flyer a contract for two hydrogen fuel-cell-electric sixty-foot Xcelsior CHARGE H2 heavy-duty transit buses (for a total of four equivalent units). MTD is the first in the US to order 60' hydrogen fuel cell buses commercially. The Xcelsior CHARGE H2 is... Read more →

In a partnership with the New Mexico Public Education Department, Los Lunas Public Schools, Magdalena Municipal School District and Moriarty-Edgewood School District have each purchased school buses fueled by propane autogas. The 17 Blue Bird Vision Propane buses will be the first propane buses to operate in the state. Our... Read more →

New Flyer of America Inc. announced that New Flyer has been selected by the Oregon State Government as an approved supplier of heavy-duty low-floor transit buses to the State of Oregon Heavy-Duty Transit Bus Price Agreement. The agreement is for up to five years, including a base term of two... Read more →

AMT Genoa (Italy) has acquired 14 10.8m Irizar ie electric buses and associated charging facilities. The Irizar buses will operate around the streets of Genoa from August 2020. Irizar ie 10.8m electric bus With on-board energy of 350 kWh, these vehicles have a range of 220 km and have 3... Read more →

Voltabox AG secured a long-term framework contract with e-troFit GmbH as the preferred supplier of high-performance battery systems for e-troFit’s conversion solutions for diesel buses. e-troFit is individually adapted to the customer’s requirements: Based on an analysis of the route profile, the company determines the actual battery capacity requirement and... Read more →

Within the scope of EU-funded GiantLeap project, Bosch Engineering GmbH, together with VDL Enabling Transport Solutions b.v. and their partners, designed and built a fuel cell range extender system for battery-electric buses. The system is contained in a specially designed trailer to be attached to the tow hitch of any... Read more →

Pioneering methods to accelerate electric fleet adoption, AMPLY Power will demonstrate and document its Charging-as-a-Service approach for an all-electric school bus fleet in New York City. Logan Bus Company is providing a fleet of five electric school buses for the demonstration, Black and Veatch will be bringing its depth of... Read more →

Trillium has completed construction of the largest hydrogen transit refueling station in North America. The Santa Ana, California hydrogen station, which went live Friday, was jointly developed by Trillium, Air Products, the Center for Transportation and the Environment (CTE), Ballard Fuel Systems and New Flyer. Houston-based Trillium is a leading... Read more →

A new report by the European Environment Agency (EEA) finds that, taken together with public transport, walking and cycling for short city journeys provide the greatest benefits for both human health and the environment in urban areas. The introduction and rapid uptake of app-based vehicle sharing schemes can also have... Read more →

The European Commission (EC) last week approved an increase in state funding by €300 million (US$332 million) for the purchase of electric buses in Germany in accordance with EU state aid rules. The German aid scheme will apply until the end of 2021 and is intended to cover the additional... Read more →

The Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) unveiled ten new hydrogen fuel-cell-electric Xcelsior CHARGE H2 heavy-duty transit buses in Santa Ana, California. The order was previously announced in April 2018, at that time becoming the US’ largest procurement and deployment of fuel cell-electric buses. The hydrogen-fueled buses will be strategically integrated... Read more →

Scandinavian transport operator Nobina has ordered 60 Volvo high-capacity electric buses which will enter service in Malmö, Sweden next year. It is immensely gratifying to receive yet another significant order for electric buses. In a short space of time we have taken orders for 220 electric buses from two of... Read more →

King County Metro (Metro)—the public transit authority of King County, Washington, which includes the city of Seattle—has agreed to purchase 40 sixty-foot battery-electric Xcelsior CHARGE heavy-duty transit buses from New Flyer, with plans to order an additional 80 battery-electric buses in the coming year. Upon execution of the purchase agreement... Read more →

BYD has delivered its first two battery-electric buses to the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC), the largest transit operator in Canada and the third-largest transit operator in North America. The bus is part of a total order by the TTC for 10 BYD 40-foot K9M buses, all of which are scheduled... Read more →

Solaris has won a tender for the delivery of three articulated electric buses to the operator SWB in Bonn. The Urbino 18 electric buses feature the new generation of Solaris High Energy+ batteries. Pursuant to the agreement, the Solaris buses will be put into service this year. A key condition... Read more →

Solaris will introduce a new 15-meter electric bus—the low-entry Solaris Urbino 15 LE electric—to its portfolio this year. The tri-axle bus is built mainly with customers of the Scandinavian market in mind. The vehicle will be available both as a typical city bus (class I) and also as an intercity... Read more →

SAE International published its latest standard, SAE J3105: Electric Vehicle Power Transfer System Using Conductive Automated Connection Devices, along with three new tributary documents. The standard covers the general physical, electrical, functional, testing, and performance requirements for a mechanized (hands-free) conductive power transfer system primarily for transit buses using an... Read more →

ABC Companies, a leading provider of motorcoach sales and support in the USA and Canada, has finalized an agreement with Lightning Systems, a Loveland, Colorado-based developer of zero-emission electric drivetrains for commercial vehicle fleets. Under the new partnership, the two companies will launch their first joint project: an electric powertrain... Read more →

In cooperation with Poznań University of Technology, Solaris is developing an advanced driver assistance system for city buses, mostly electric ones. Devised jointly by engineers of Solaris and of the Poznań University of Technology, the system will facilitate the performance of simple and complex maneuvers, such as driving forward and... Read more →

India’s Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Dharmendra Pradhan, launched India’s first long distance compressed natural gas (CNG) bus under a strategic program led by Indraprastha Gas Limited (IGL), the largest CNG distribution company in India. The launch ushers in CNG as the fuel of choice for long distance transportation... Read more →

The Capital District Transportation Authority’s (CDTA)i in Albany, New York, is rolling out four electric buses to test the technology and charging infrastructure. CDTA will put the electric buses it purchased from New Flyer of America into service as part of a pilot program. The transportation authority will monitor the... Read more →

Solaris will supply seven Urbino 12 series-hybrid buses to Ząbkowice Śląskie, Poland by 31 July 2020. The buses will serve on routes of the new public transport lines to be established in the municipality. The seven 12-meter buses feature a series-hybrid drive consisting of a 120 kW electric motor and... Read more →

Thomas Built Buses Inc (TBB) has been selected as the provider of all 50 electric school buses allocated for the initial phase of Dominion Energy’s electric school bus replacement program in Virginia. The program represents the largest deployment of electric school buses in the United States. After the initial 50,... Read more →

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) has aded two BYD battery-electric buses. The K9M 40-foot buses are part of the airport’s fleet of “terminal-to- terminal” shuttles used to transport passengers between the international and domestic terminals, and from the international terminal to the Rental Car Center. The vehicles carry 22 passengers... Read more →

Ballard Power Systems announcedthat 8 ExquiCity tram-buses built by Van Hool NV and powered by 8 Ballard FCveloCity-HD 100-kilowatt fuel cell modules have been inaugurated at a ceremony in Pau, France and are now in revenue service in Pau’s Bus Rapid Transit System. The ExquiCity 18 trams are driven by... Read more →

Proterra has been selected by the California Department of General Services as a vendor to supply Proterra battery-electric buses and Proterra charging systems for the statewide contract. Proterra, along with other manufacturers, underwent a review process by the state of California and was chosen among a pool of providers to... Read more →

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) has selected BAE Systems to supply electric power and propulsion systems for its transit buses. BAE Series-ER (Electric Range) systems will operate on 68 transit buses and support designated green zone routes throughout San Francisco that are free of emissions. BAE’s series hybrid... Read more →

BYD has secured the largest single order to date for full battery-electric buses in Europe in a deal with Keolis Nederland BV, the Dutch subsidiary of global public transport provider, Keolis. The landmark order comprises 259 BYD eBuses scheduled for programmed delivery from next summer. For Keolis Nederland, BYD’s 8.7-meter... Read more →

California is joining with seven other states and the District of Columbia in committing to develop an action plan to put hundreds of thousands more zero-emission trucks and buses on their roads and highways. The partners will present a proposed memorandum of understanding to the governors of the states and... Read more →

The public transport authority Zarząd Transportu Miejskiego (ZTM) in Lublin has ordered 20 electric buses and 15 trolleybuses from Solaris. The value of the orders exceeds PLN 106 million (US$27.4 million). The new vehicles commissioned by public transport authority ZTM include 15 articulated Solaris Trollino 18 trolleybuses and 20 Solaris... Read more →

Ballard Power Systems announced a purchase order from Van Hool, a leading bus OEM and Ballard partner headquartered in Belgium, for 20 FCveloCity-HD 85kW fuel cell modules to power buses in Groningen, the Netherlands, under the JIVE2 funding program. Ballard plans to deliver the 20 FCveloCity-HD 85kW modules in 2020.... Read more →

The Norwegian operator Keolis Norge AS has ordered 10 Solaris Trollino articulated trolleybuses for Bergen, Norway’s second-largest city. Bergen, called ‘the gate to the fjords', a city on the UNESCO World Heritage List, is the only city in Norway and one of only two in entire Scandinavia with a trolleybus... Read more →

The first Solaris Urbino electric buses ordered by MPK Poznań last December are now in service. A total of 21 Solaris electric buses will be delivered to Poznań. 15 of them are Solaris Urbino 18 electric articulated vehicles, the other 6 are the 12 meter-long Solaris Urbino 12 electric. The... Read more →

Four purely electrically powered Mercedes-Benz urban buses were handed over to Reutlinger Stadtverkehr (RSV) on 29 November. The eCitaro buses will operate on Reutlingen’s number 7 route, which is the town’s first E-line, from a new and purpose-built electric bus depot. The line concept provides for the eCitaro to be... Read more →

XALT Energy is powering the US’ first, long-distance, all-electric passenger coach in tests with private and public transportation providers in the United States. XALT Energy, a company of Freudenberg Sealing Technologies, is a Midland, Michigan-based global developer and manufacturer of lithium-ion technology solutions. XALT Energy is working in partnership with... Read more →

BYD will provide the Colombian capital of Bogotá with a fleet of 379 pure electric buses, in a deal awarded by the capital’s TransMilenio SA mass transport authority. This fleet will begin operations in September 2020, giving Bogotá the largest electric bus fleet on the continent and one of the... Read more →

The city of Paks, located in the central part of Hungary, has ordered 10 zero-emission electric buses from Solaris: six Solaris Urbino 12 electric vehicles and four 8.9-meter electric buses with five stationary chargers. Six Urbino 12 electric and four Urbino 8.9 LE electric will be delivered to Hungary within... Read more →

The first fully-electric Mercedes-Benz eCitaro city buses were handed over on 18 November 2019 to ESWE Verkehrsgesellschaft mbH (ESWE Verkehr) in Wiesbaden. The vehicles are part of a large-scale order for 56 units of the battery-powered city bus which is series-produced in Mannheim, Germany. Each delivery of one of our... Read more →

Volvo Buses recently demonstrated the potential of a 12-meter electric and autonomous bus at a bus depot. The demonstration, held together with bus operator Keolis, took place at Keolis’ bus depot just outside of Gothenburg, Sweden. During the demonstration, the fully-electric 12m autonomous bus successfully drove itself between the parking... Read more →

The Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) has ordered 130 BYD battery-electric K7M buses, the largest single order of battery-electric buses to date in the United States. BYD considers the LADOT purchase as a signal to the market that zero-emission buses are here to stay and that their use will... Read more →