The fleet of electric buses in Greensboro continues to grow.
The Greensboro Transit Agency (GTA) of the Greensboro Department of Transportation announced that it had received a grant of $1.1 million from the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality from the Volkswagen settlement and in Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality funding.
The funds are targeted to replace an ageing diesel bus in the GTA fleet with a new zero emissions electric bus and the necessary charging apparatus.
This grant combined with $3 million from the Federal Transit Administration that was announced in March for the purchase of three electric buses will increase the total number of electric buses in the GTA fleet to 21. When combined with the diesel-electric hybrid buses in the fleet, over 50 percent of GTA buses will be electric or hybrid electric.
Greensboro was the first city in North Carolina to add electric buses to its fleet of vehicles used in its public transit system. Electric buses ran their first routes on Jan. 31, 2019. However, the grand opening of the electric bus program was officially launched with a ceremony attended by NC Gov. Roy Cooper on Feb. 21, 2019.
At the time, with 10 electric buses on the road, Greensboro had the second largest fleet of electric buses on the East Coast behind only Philadelphia. By the end of 2019 Greensboro had 16 electric buses in its fleet.
Although the purchase price of electric buses is considerably higher than diesel buses, over the 12-year lifespan of a public transportation bus it is estimated that the city saves $350,000 in fuel and maintenance costs.
Although the savings in fuel costs are fairly obvious, it is actually the savings in maintenance costs that makes running an electric bus fleet economically viable.
The city likes studies and a study of how much is being wasted using full size buses on routes that routinely have very few passengers is deserving. No matter the bus being electric, diesel or gas this is a waste of resources. These routes could be handled by smaller buses like the ones used by Part. Greensboro wants to show off at the expense of the tax payer. Several candidates in the past election brought up the lack of logistics with the city but they were not elected so it is business as usual…. Waste the tax payers money!
Fortunately, I’ve never ridden a GSO City bus. There used to be service that stopped on Lawndale just prior to Regents Park Lane. There were always a few riders. Several years ago, that service stopped and I believe the closest stop is now near the Lawndale Food Lion.
The City acts as if money grows on trees. Large buses with few or no passengers is just one of the many wastes of resources and man-power. I see work crews with one person working and as many as 5 watching.
Several years ago, the City messed up my yard while picking up tree debris (after a storm) with a front end loader. I brought this to their attention. They came back to fix it with 2 large trucks and 6 workers; 1 truck and 2 workers would have been sufficient.
“What’s old is new”…Duke Electric used to own the bus system in Greensboro and 100% of their buses were electric.
3 mil for three EV buses, most of the energy supplied by burning fossil fuels, especially COAL? The cost of providing this service mostly funded by the taxpayer?
Right! During/after the war, you could ride the Duke electric trolleys from any point to any point in their system for 10c. Or 25c for three tokens.
During/after WWII, there were a lot of folks who did not have a car, or maybe just one. Our family got their first and only car in 1948, mom never drove. So we used the bus a lot. And there were plenty of neighborhood stores that you could walk to.
Now, more and more of us are on the dole for everything.
I doubt I’ll get an honest answer from the cut but here goes. What does it cost to maintain 1 electric bus including charging the batteries every day or multiple times a day for a year. How much does a new battery pack cost. How long do the batteries last.
How does this cost compare to diesel run buses
In the article they claim 12 year cycle for the bus but do not talk about what it cost to maintain or to charge just that over the life a 350,000 savings . The ? Is the use of fossil fuels to charge the bus, the impact on the environment to do so, the impact on the grid if all had EVs. They do not give a cost comparison of conventional vs EV TO purchase. With so few riders on some routes not sure they can justify the cost of any full size bus. Common sense and logistics are not being applied because the council thinks money grows on trees.
Talked to a friend who works on the new buses he said that the city has already had to replace battery packs in some of the “green”buses and that techs are forbidden to discuss the repair or cost of the bus repairs. Should be no surprise to anyone.
Public records request to city Finance Department should get an answer. That is where bills are paid. Be specific about what you are requesting. Lack of specifics is one way PRIs are denied or answering is prolonged.
Just do an Uber-type plan with smaller vehicles Way less expensive. Come on Greensboro. No need to invest millions in antiquated “futuristic technology”. Let’s step into the 21st century and just use a ride share program.