Edmonton Transit Service (ETS) has unveiled its first 21 Proterra electric buses and brand new, purpose-built electric bus garages.
ETS has 19 more Proterra buses on the way this year to make up a 40-bus fleet, one of the largest purchases of electric buses in Canadian history. With this deployment, ETS also becomes the first to implement in-depot overhead charging on the continent. ETS will begin putting the electric buses into service in early August.
“For many years I’ve advocated for the adoption of electric buses in our city and I’m happy to see that Edmonton is leading the way. Our purchase is historic in that it represents the largest purchase of electric buses in Canadian history,” says Mayor Don Iveson.
“Electric buses are a major component of the future of public transit in our city and across Canada because they save the city money and benefit not only transit users but also Edmontonians who aren’t regular commuters on our transit system, as they’ll also benefit from the city meeting its energy and climate goals,” he adds.
Edmonton selected the 40-foot Proterra Catalyst E2 max vehicle with 660 kWh of onboard energy and the DuoPower drivetrain. The E2 max bus has six Proterra battery packs – the most energy storage on any 40-foot electric bus – enabling these vehicles to get approximately 350 km of range on ETS routes.
The DuoPower drivetrain delivers nearly twice the horsepower and five times better fuel efficiency than a standard diesel engine. Featuring two electric motors, the drivetrain delivers 510 horsepower, accelerating a Catalyst bus from 0-20 mph in under six seconds.
To charge its new buses, Edmonton also unveiled the new Kathleen Andrews Garage, named after Edmonton’s first woman transit operator, who worked for the city for 23 years. ETS collaborated with the Proterra Energy team to install 26 ABB 150 kW depot chargers connected to inverted pantographs and seven 60 kW Proterra plug-in chargers in the maintenance area, all of which are interoperable and standardized.
ETS bus operators are able to drive the buses into assigned parking spots and connect to the respective overhead chargers with the flip of a switch and begin charging immediately or wait until a designated time when fleet management software will initiate charging. ETS, Proterra and ABB created the installation using RFID technology, Wi-Fi and 2-step authentication that ensures each bus connects to its respective overhead charger.
ETS uses the Proterra APEX Connected Vehicle Intelligence System to monitor and manage its fleet of electric buses and charging systems. By using the APEX system, ETS will be able to easily monitor the status of its vehicles and gather information such as state of charge, charger status, bus efficiency, distance traveled and more. Charge management features keep energy consumption from the chargers below set limits, minimizing electricity costs and ensuring the power draw stays within facility limits. A cloud-based portal also allows ETS to review historical data on vehicle performance, helping inform decisions to optimize operations.
Photo: An ETS electric bus connected to an overhead charger