No Need To Wait: Electric Buses Are Cost-Competitive Transit Buses Today
The 14 Proterra Catalyst E2 buses purchased for the DC Circulator have been delivered and will go into service next week in one of the highest profile public transit routes in the country – Washington DC’s National Mall. The brightly wrapped buses aren’t shy about the high tech powertrains that propel them around the nation’s capital but rather, they proudly proclaim their status as 100 percent electric, zero-emission vehicles proudly as they go about their routes.
Breaking that down into more digestible metrics, electric buses, like those offered by Proterra, are simply more efficient than their fossil fuel counterparts: “The buses we offer get over 20 miles per gallon equivalent. When you compare that with a traditional diesel bus, you’re saving more than 80% of the energy that you would have used and maintenance costs are proving out to be significantly better than with fossil fuel powered vehicles. The savings long-term that customers are able to achieve are what is pushing this market to adopt as fast as it is. It’s surprising everybody in transit how quickly electric vehicles are being adopted as best practice in the industry.”
Matt shared that these transit authorities are not just the early adopters, they are the first of the early majority. “Now, there are more than 20 transit agencies in US cities that have said formally that they are no longer buying fossil fuel buses and are 100% battery electric in their planning.” Just this week, New York City got on board with the program, proclaiming that it would fully convert its fleet of 5,700 buses to electric over the next 2 decades.
The Proterra Catalyst E2 buses purchased for the DC Circular are absolutely loaded, with 440 kWh of batteries allowing them to drive for the entire day without needing to charge.
Looking into the future just a few years, it’s not hard to imagine a world where electric buses are normal and buses spewing noxious clouds of black exhaust have been largely relegated to fixtures in the history books. The transition to fully electric isn’t starting today, but rather, we are already at a point where citizens should be asking their transit authorities, “If electric buses cost less and don’t pollute, why aren’t you buying electric buses?”
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No Need To Wait: Electric Buses Are Cost-Competitive Transit Buses Today | CleanTechnica The transition to fully electric isn’t starting today, but rather, we are already at a point where citizens should be asking their transit authorities, “If electric buses cost less and don’t pollute, why aren’t you buying electric buses?” |