Proterra
Proterra announced that it partnered with 15 transit agencies to secure $32 million in Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Low or No Emission Program Grants (Low-No) for battery-electric buses and charging infrastructure. The recipients include five current Proterra customers and 10 new partners. Under the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, the Low-No grants support projects that replace, rehabilitate, lease or purchase low- or no-emission buses and related equipment and facilities.
New Flyer Industries Canada
New Flyer Industries Canada will supply six battery-electric Xcelsior buses to Brampton Transit with $11.5 million in federal funding secured in partnership with the Canadian Urban Transportation Research and Innovation Consortium (CUTRIC) from Natural Resources Canada. The funding includes four overhead charging systems from ABB and Siemens. With the grant, Brampton Transit will resume participation in CUTRIC’s multi-manufacturer interoperability demonstration through the Pan-Canadian Trial.
New Flyer America announced a contract to deliver four battery-electric Xcelsior transit buses and four Siemens depot chargers to the Capital District Transportation Authority of New York. Omaha Metro in Nebraska has ordered 10 New Flyer Xcelsior heavy-duty transit buses fueled by compressed natural gas.
B.C. Transit
In British Columbia, B.C. Transit announced in July that it will replace its fleet of 1,200 buses with battery-electrics over the next 10 years while adding 350 additional buses. The governments of Canada and British Columbia have assigned $79 million to the conversion. B.C. Transit said the electric buses will reduce the fleet’s greenhouse gas emissions 40 percent by 2030.
Workhorse Group Inc.
Bloomberg News reported that Workhorse Group Inc., a manufacturer of electric trucks, recorded sales of just $6,000 in the second quarter of the year. The company said it was negotiating with General Motors to purchase the closed assembly plant in Lordstown, Ohio, that produced the Chevrolet Cruze. The company stated, “The Lordstown plant’s size and experienced workforce could boost the company’s bid for a possible $6.3 billion contract with the U.S. Postal Service to build 180,000 electric mail trucks.” GM previously employed 4,500 people at the plant.
