Over in the United
States of America, north of Los Angeles County in the State of California, Antelope Valley Transit Authority (AVTA)
have decided to buy 85 electric buses manufactured by BYD in order to make its
entire fleet zero emission.
From AVTA Press release
ANTELOPE
VALLEY TRANSIT AUTHORITY TO BECOME NATION'S FIRST 100 PERCENT ELECTRIC PUBLIC
TRANSIT FLEET
Los
Angeles-based BYD Motors will supply up-to 85 all-electric buses to Transit
Agency
LANCASTER,
Calif.—Feb. 11, 2016— The Antelope Valley Transit Authority (AVTA) has taken a
major step toward becoming the first 100 percent electric public transit fleet
in the country, demonstrating leadership in the transit community along with
its commitment to promoting emission-free transportation.
During
a special meeting today, the AVTA board of directors voted to award BYD a
contract to manufacture up to 85 electric buses over a five year period. The
historic announcement was made during a special event that followed the meeting
at the AVTA facility and was attended by elected officials, dignitaries and
community leaders. Los Angeles-based BYD Motors, a global leader in developing
electric transportation, will build the up to 85 buses for AVTA at its
manufacturing facility in Lancaster, California.
"I'm
pleased to chair a transit agency as forward-thinking as AVTA that also has the
political will to do something no other transit agency in the country has done
yet - go all-electric," said Marvin Christ, chairman of the AVTA Board of
Directors. "There are multiple benefits to electrifying our bus fleet,
from creating jobs and eliminating harmful air pollutants, to reducing
dependence on foreign oil. These benefits will be seen at the local, regional,
state, and national levels. It's really a win-win."
Under
the order from AVTA, BYD Motors will build and deliver a variety of
all-electric bus models including a 40 foot low floor transit bus, a 60 foot
low floor articulated bus, and a 45 foot commuter coach. All 85 buses will have
a range of more than 160 miles on a single battery charge. AVTA is also
installing a wireless charging system to extend the fleet's range to ensure the
electric buses will be able to serve the agency's longest rural routes.
"BYD
Coach and Bus is proud to partner with AVTA on its groundbreaking decision to
completely electrify its fleet," said Stella Li, president of BYD Motors.
"With more than 6,000 electric
buses deployed world wide and 90
million miles of dependable service already accumulated, we know that our
technology will help AVTA save money and improve local air quality.
Pure-electric powered transportation is no longer in the future - it's here
now. I hope other transit agencies in California and across the country take
note and follow the example AVTA has set today."
AVTA
is anticipating a cost savings as a result of electrifying its fleet. Over the
lifetime of the new electric bus fleet, the transit agency forecasts it could
save more than $46 million compared
to an all- diesel bus fleet, equivalent to $46,000 per bus per year in savings.
And, by reducing dependence on foreign oil imports, AVTA will no longer be
subject to oil price volatility for its
bus fleet. This will help create greater stability for budget forecasting
for the fleet manager - an important factor for a public agency.
The
agency expects to take delivery of 29 electric buses within the next 12 months
and is working to secure additional grant funding from the Air Resources Board
to purchase another 17 buses.
"This
is a historic day for AVTA which has been working diligently to secure grant
funding to purchase these state-of-the- art zero-emission vehicles," said
Len Engel, executive director of AVTA. "We are proud to be the first
transit system to adopt a goal of '100% Green in 2018' and we look forward to
leading the nation toward a new alternative in public transportation."
Additional
benefits AVTA will see as a result of electrifying its entire fleet include:
·
Noise
Pollution Reduction: noise pollution will be reduced by 50 percent, making it a
more pleasant ride for bus operators and transit passengers.
·
Emissions
Reductions: AVTA's all-electric fleet will provide elimination of CO2, NOx,
PM10 and PM2.5, thereby improving air quality and positively impacting human
health.
·
Safer
Work Environment for Technicians: The electric batteries are safe, thermal
runaway proof, non-toxic, and maintenance free. There are no diesel or diesel
emission fluids needed for bus maintenance, providing a safer and healthier
working environment for vehicle technicians.
This is great news
that they've decided to make their bus fleet battery electric in order to reduce emissions.
What is AVTA?
The
Antelope Valley Transit Authority serves a population of over 450,000 residents
of the Cities of Lancaster and Palmdale, as well as the unincorporated portions
of northern Los Angeles County. AVTA’s total service area covers 1,200 square
miles and is bounded by the Kern County line to the north, the San Bernardino
Driver County line to the east, the Angeles National Forest to the south, and
Interstate 5 to the West. The fixed route service area consists of
approximately 100 square miles.
AVTA
contracts with Veolia Transportation,
Inc. to provide Fixed Route and maintenance function and contracts with
American Logistics for its Dial-A-Ride bus operations, effective January 1,
2012. The current Veolia contract expired on December 31, 2011 and new
contracts were awarded to Veolia Transportation and American Logistis in
October 2011.
AVTA
operates a network of 12 local transit,
four commuter routes, and two
supplemental school routes during the week. Local bus service is operated
on weekdays from 5:45 a.m. to 12:39 p.m. Weekend service is operated from 6:45
a.m. to 8:10 p.m. Commuter routes operate Monday through Friday from 3:45 a.m.
to 7:40 p.m.
AVTA
operates a fleet of 71 buses for transit
service with 43 buses for local service and 28 for commuter service. The
current peak requirement for local service is 34 vehicles and commuter service is 20 vehicles.
Veolia Transportation
is now known as Transdev and they have been awarded a 2 year extension to their contract which happened
on August 25th 2015.
Now what about London?
Well, Go Ahead London (A London Bus
Operator) has ordered 51 battery electric buses manufactured by BYD and Alexander Dennis at the cost of £19 million. They will be operating
on Routes 507 and 521 and are expected to enter service by 27th August 2016. Currently a small number of
electric buses operate on route 507 and 521 which are the BYD eBus and the
Irizar i2e electric buses.
London Buses route
312, operated by Arriva London, is
fully served by nine single deck battery
electric buses which are the Optare Metrocity. They have been in operation
since September 2015.
Another London Bus
route is H98 which operates with four battery electric Optare Metrocity buses;
they are contracted to London United. The rest of the route H98 fleet is
operated with single decker diesel buses.
I also have to mention
that Route RV1 has a near full allocation of single deck Hydrogen powered VDL
SB200's with Wright Pulsar body work. Recently TFL ordered another two hydrogen
single deck buses which are manufactured by Van Hool. London Buses route RV1 is
operated under contract to Tower Transit.
Unfortunately there is
still no news regarding the world’s
first battery powered electric double deck bus manufactured by BYD.
Recently TFL approved
another order to extend the New Routemaster fleet to 1,000 buses which are
double deck diesel electric hybrid buses with 3 doors and 2 staircases. Is it
now time for TFL to invest more on zero
emission buses which can be hydrogen or battery powered electric buses? Let
me know what you think in the comments section below.
Overall, I have to
congratulate to AVTA for their decision as this has encouraged me to inform my
many readers in the UK of this exciting new development in public transport.
As always, you can
follow me on Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest and
Google Plus for all the latest news
in the world of transport at @CLondoner92
Related articles:
First image taken from AVTA's Twitter post.