CATA to Test Zero-Emission Battery-Electric Bus

Riders may see a new kind of bus making its way across town next week.

The Centre Area Transportation Authority (CATA) will have on loan from bus manufacturer New Flyer an Xcelsior XE40 zero-emission battery-electric bus from Monday, March 13, through Friday, March 17. During this time, CATA employees will be provided with the opportunity to place the bus into service and to examine whether this type of vehicle may be one that the authority might consider for procurement in the future.

The 40’ bus, powered with up to 300 kWh of energy (equivalent to 105,000 AA batteries) stored in rechargeable high voltage lithium batteries on the roof and at the rear of the vehicle, will operate 89-140 miles on a single 1.6-hour charge, which will be received at CATA’s maintenance facility. The buses are estimated to save up to 160 tons of greenhouse gases per year compared to the diesel-powered buses operating at most transit agencies.

“CATA’s commitment to the exploration of alternative fuels began in 1993, when the authority secured its first clean compressed natural gas (CNG) bus,” noted Louwana Oliva, CATA general manager. “Since becoming the first transit agency on the East Coast to have replaced its diesel fleet with one operating entirely on CNG, we have experimented with a hydrogen-CNG hybrid, and look forward now to looking further into battery-electric technologies.”

Riders can expect to see the bus operating on various Community and Campus routes throughout the week.