The City of Asheville will deploy five zero-emission electric buses in 2019 for the city’s transit system, Asheville Redefines Transit (ART).
By committing to transit vehicles that are powered by electricity, the city will reduce fuels costs and dependence on imported energy resources. It will also align with the city’s carbon-reduction goals. The estimated impact is an approximate reduction of 54 tons of emission per year per bus, which adds up to a total of 270 tons of emissions per year once all five ART buses are deployed.
Greenville, S.C.-based Proterra, a leader in the design and manufacture of zero-emission electric buses, delivered the first three electric buses to the City of Asheville in December. Two more are scheduled to arrive in March. They will go into service in late winter/early spring, following testing and training.
Please join city officials for a preview of the new ART electric buses at 1:00 pm on Friday, Feb. 15 at the ART Station, 49 Coxe Ave. After a presentation, attendees will be invited to ride the buses on a short loop around downtown. The city looks forward to sharing details about the bus deployments!
Also, as training is going on for the new electric buses, people may see them following one of the many other ART buses over the next few weeks. They will not be picking up passengers during this training period.
The City of Asheville is working to promote sustainability and reduction of our carbon footprint as a city and as a community. The city is responsible for a 31% reduction in its municipal carbon footprint since 2008. The goal is for the entire ART fleet to become electric non-emission over time.
Find more information about ART’s new electric buses on the City of Asheville website.