By Will Reisman, @WillReisman
Touted as the first 60-foot articulated battery-electric bus in the country, the BYD vehicle is capable of running 170 miles before needing recharging, can carry 120 passengers, has zero emissions and has a battery life of over 12 years. The demo vehicle—dubbed the “Lancaster” after the California city it was built in—also racked up some bonus points for still having that new car smell (it debuted in October in time for the American Public Transportation Expo in Houston.)
Before swinging by the SamTrans’ headquarters on Wednesday, Holtz and a few employees from the district took the 60-foot bus on a journey retracing the agency’s Route ECR course, which connects Daly City to Palo Alto. The vehicle was able to make the journey (including a one-mile deadhead trip between SamTrans’ North Base and the start of the route) while using up just 13 percent of its battery.
It’s important for SamTrans to start investigating electric vehicle options, according to Chuck Harvey, the agency’s CEO of Operations, Engineering & Construction, since the California Air Resources Board, the state regulatory body in charge of reducing air pollution, may soon start making zero-emission buses a mandatory part of any vehicle procurement order. So, when SamTrans begins the process next year of replacing its 2003 40-foot Gillig buses, that order might require a certain percentage of the replacement fleet to be zero-emission vehicles like electric buses.
SamTrans has already gone to great pains to reduce the emissions on its fleet by investing in new diesel fuel technologies that are cleaner for the environment. It recently introduced 45 hybrid diesel-electric buses into its fleet, replacing old diesel vehicles that produced 90 percent more nitrogen oxide emissions than their newer counterparts. Part of the SamTrans Strategic Plan is to provide public transportation services in the most environmentally-responsible manner possible, so the agency is constantly exploring new ideas about reducing fleet emissions. .
“The idea of a zero-emissions vehicle is extremely exciting for the transit industry and the environment, provided it can be done cost-effectively,” said Harvey.