April18,2108-
The City of Visalia will purchase three 40-foot electric buses to replace compressed natural gas buses currently running. The electric buses are a first for Visalia as California municipalities and school districts work to follow mandates to switch to all-electric fleets to reduce both pollution and greenhouse gases.
Visalia has a fleet of 80 buses that are to be converted by 2029 to an all-electric, zero-emission fleet.
The three buses cost $3.16 million funded through various grants. The city will purchase the buses from Proterra Inc, selected by the Air Resources Board for this grant. The buses are expected to be in service this fall.
Transit administrator Carmen Quevedo says the grant dates from 2015. Asked why the city did not work with GreenPower buses of Porterville to buy the transit vehicles made now in Tulare County? The answer is the grant predates GreenPower coming to the area. She says in the future, buses may be purchased from GreenPower now that they are in operation here.
GreenPower opened some assembly operations in Porterville in recent days.
Quevedo says the city will still have to work to come up with a strategy to cheaply power-up the electric buses.