The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro) has committed to fully electrifying its fleet of 2,200 buses by 2030 – in August it agreed to buy 95 electric buses from New Flyer and BYD.

Now the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT), which operates a fleet of 359 buses, has made the same commitment, and has ordered 25 35-foot Proterra Catalyst electric buses, to be delivered in 2019. The procurement will be funded in part by the Federal Transit Administration’s Low or No Emission Vehicle Deployment Grants.

The new buses will deliver anticipated cost savings of $11.2 million over their 12-year lifetime

“Our goal is a 100 percent electric bus fleet – it’s a quiet ride for our customers and cleaner air for our city,” said Seleta Reynolds, LADOT’s General Manager. “We know we can’t achieve our vision without partners like Proterra, and we can’t wait to see these buses on the street!”

Southern California is served by a patchwork of transportation agencies, and most of these, including Foothill Transit and Antelope Valley Transit Authority, have announced plans to convert their vehicles to battery-electric buses.

“Los Angeles County is home to our manufacturing facility in the City of Industry, where we manufacture the Catalyst electric buses, so it is fitting that our buses will be deployed in nearby regions,” said Ryan Popple, CEO of Proterra.

Source: Proterra