The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (L.A. Metro) will be acquiring as many as 25 all-electric heavy-duty transit buses from BYD Co. Ltd. as a part of a $30 million pilot project.
L.A. Metro is a pioneer in clean transportation, with a fleet of more than 2,000 compressed natural gas (CNG) buses, but this is the agency's first deployment of electric buses. The new units will be used in regular revenue service in order to enable L.A. Metro to evaluate the technology's performance.
‘This initiative sets Metro on a new course for transitioning to even cleaner electric buses that will be assembled right here in Los Angeles County at the BYD manufacturing plant in Lancaster,’ says Michael D. Antonovich, L.A. County Supervisor and L.A. Metro's board chairman.
The Advanced Transit Vehicle Consortium, a partnership among the City of Los Angeles, Los Angeles County and the South Coast Air Quality Management District, will initially purchase five low-floor, 40-foot BYD buses. After an initial evaluation period, L.A. Metro can exercise an option to purchase up to 20 additional buses.
BYD's electric buses use the company's proprietary iron phosphate batteries, which can yield a range of more than 150 miles between charges.
