King County Metro has agreed to purchase up to 120 New Flyer Xcelsior CHARGE electric buses for a total estimated cost of $130 million. The transport operator will begin with the purchase of 40 articulated 60-foot electric buses, and plans to buy an additional 80 New Flyer electric buses (20 articulated 60-foot buses and 60 40-foot buses) for an estimated $80 million in fall 2022. Each of the buses has a battery size of 466 kWh and a range of 140 miles.

King County Metro has received $20 million in grants to support the acquisition of electric buses, including $9.1 million from the Federal Transit Administration and $10.9 million from the Washington State Department of Ecology Volkswagen Settlement program. The operator currently has 11 short-range electric buses.

A phased approach is planned for the addition of bus base capacity and charging infrastructure, starting with the completion of a temporary bus base that will house a charging system for 100 buses. King County Metro will invest $41 million in this base, and electrification infrastructure is estimated to cost $50-$60 million.

After this initial procurement of 120 buses, King County Metro plans an additional procurement of 250 electric buses for delivery in 2025.

King County Executive Dow Constantine said, “These new buses will be able to serve routes all over King County, and especially in the southern part of the county, an area disproportionately affected by pollution. Working with New Flyer, we’ve procured 40 new buses that can handle anything we throw at them—quietly, efficiently, and fueled by clean power.”

Source: King County Metro