King County, Washington, Executive Dow Constantine announced that King County Metro Transit will acquire 120 all-electric battery buses by 2020.
As part of this commitment, Metro will purchase up to 73 battery buses from Burlingame, Calif.-based Proterra at a cost of up to $55 million, starting with 20 buses totaling $15.12 million. The first 20 are scheduled to go into service this year and 2019.
Charging stations to support the initial orders of those buses will range from $5.5 million to $6.6 million.
Federal funding often helps pay for Metro’s new bus purchases. Last year, King County Metro received a $3.3 million grant from the Federal Transit Administration’s Low-or No-Emission Vehicle Deployment Program to help fund some new battery buses and charging stations for three buses that are in operations on the eastside of King County.
The 40-foot electric buses have an estimated range of about 25 miles, with a quick charging time of just 10 minutes.
Maintenance costs of all-electric buses are expected to decline versus hybrid-diesels, primarily because they have fewer moving parts.
Eight of the buses are slated to go into service this year; 12 more in 2019. Up to eight of the new 40-foot battery buses will likely operate on Metro Routes 226 and 241 in Bellevue. As part of a pilot project last year, Metro began running three all-electric buses on these routes, which serve some of the county’s densest job centers, including the Microsoft campus and downtown Bellevue.
As part of the announcement, Metro will acquire up to nine long-range electric buses from different manufacturers to test the battery technology with a range of about 140 miles. With this approximately $7 million acquisition, Metro is challenging the industry to produce buses that can travel farther. Metro also is calling on the industry to develop 60-foot long buses, better able to replace the articulated buses that make up 55 percent of its fleet.
Each battery bus reduces tailpipe greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 65 tons each year, the equivalent of 21 cars off the road. The new buses run cleaner, quieter, and reduce dependence on fossil fuels. Cutting diesel emissions also means better air quality, benefiting people with asthma and other health issues.
Metro is a leader in clean technology. It was the first transit agency to adopt diesel-electric hybrids, and it currently operates more than 170 electric trolley buses.
