King County Metro has awarded New Flyer of America Inc. a contract for 20 additional 60-foot zero-emission, battery-electric Xcelsior CHARGE heavy-duty transit buses.
Metro is one of the 10 largest transit agencies in the U.S., providing over 122 million annual passenger trips in King County, Wash., and Seattle. Metro’s long-term commitment, first announced January 2020, is to achieve a 100% zero-emissions fleet powered by renewable energy no later than 2040.
The addition of 20 battery-electric buses marks another key milestone in reaching Metro’s goal to improve air quality, reduce carbon and provide equitable access to sustainable transportation. This order follows the completion of an 18-month electric bus evaluation of two 60-foot New Flyer Xcelsior CHARGE buses program initiated in 2018.
“Metro has long been an early adopter of advanced innovation, and the transition to zero-emission mobility is no exception,” says Chris Stoddart, president of New Flyer. “New Flyer battery-electric buses offer significant noise reduction, cost savings and reduced greenhouse gas emissions – all while consistently performing through rigorous operating environments to keep the community moving. Having delivered over 1,830 buses to King County since 1979 – with over half comprised of zero-emission or hybrid-electric propulsions – New Flyer technology has assisted Metro’s transition to clean, quiet, reliable and sustainable transit.”
New Flyer says it is committed to the evolution of scalable zero-emission mobility, offering battery-electric Xcelsior CHARGE and fuel cell-electric Xcelsior CHARGE H2 buses, and supporting zero-emission deployments through New Flyer Infrastructure Solutions, which provides safe and reliable infrastructure services for sustainable mobility projects.
For information on New Flyer’s zero-emission buses, click here.
