嘿嘿视频

Unitrans Ready to Flip the Switch

6 Electric Buses Will Hit the Road Wednesday

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Person handles charging cable in bus yard with red buses
Student employee Christopher Magana, majoring in neurobiology, physiology and behavior, prepares to charge one of Unitrans鈥 new buses, Monday (Sept. 19). (Gregory Urquiaga/嘿嘿视频)

Quick Summary

  • More buses are on the way for the system鈥檚 all-electric future
  • Rated at 225 miles per charge, sufficient for full day of service
  • New buses sport red-wave paint scheme, no more white stripe

Unitrans is charged up and ready to start carrying passengers in its first six electric buses!

BUS SERVICE UPDATES

The single-deck buses are due to go into service Wednesday (Sept. 21), the first day of fall quarter instruction. The electrics feature a new, red-wave exterior paint scheme (and no more white stripe).

But it鈥檚 the zero-emission factor of the New Flyer Xcelsior Charge NG buses that is most impressive as , the campus-city system run by the Associated Students of 嘿嘿视频, zeroes in on an all-electric future.

鈥淲e are committed to buying nothing but electric from here on out鈥 鈥 48 in all, to replace the entire fleet, said Jeff Flynn, Unitrans general manager, 鈥渋n furtherance of 嘿嘿视频 and UC and city of Davis carbon neutrality goals.鈥

Unitrans鈥 existing fleet runs on compressed natural gas. As those buses reach retirement age, they will be replaced with battery electric vehicles.

Flynn said the New Flyer Xcelsior Charge NGs are rated to go 225 miles on a single charge, 鈥渂ut real-life expectation from peer agencies is 175 miles.鈥 Still, with the average Unitrans bus traveling 150 miles a day, there should be no need to charge the buses midday, he said. 鈥淲e have not had any issues.鈥

Each of the new buses has the same capacity as Unitrans鈥 existing single-deckers: 37 seated, 65 total, including space for mobility devices (with ramp access). New Flyer Industries manufactured the buses in Minnesota and trucked them to Davis.

Check out one of Unitrans鈥 new electric buses at Cool Davis鈥 , an exhibition of electric vehicles, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Sunday (Sept. 25) at the Free admission.

Electric bus charging stations
The Unitrans bus yard has been outfitted with 14 charging stations. (Gregory Urquiaga/嘿嘿视频)

14 buses, 14 charging stations

Phase 1 of Unitrans鈥 electrification program comprises the six buses going into service this week, and eight more due to arrive in spring 2023 and spring 2024 and the installation of 14 charging stations at the bus yard.

Total cost: $19.2 million, about $1 million each for the buses and $5.2 million for the charging stations (already completed), paid for as follows:

  • $11 million in competitive state and federal transportation grants funneled through the city of Davis, the Sacramento Area Council of Governments and the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District
  • $8 million in other federal funds (allocated by the city of Davis) and some student fee money

Next phases

Flynn said the electrification program is envisioned in three phases, with completion by 2034. Unitrans has secured funding for 12 to 15 additional charging stations but does not yet have funds for more buses beyond the initial 14.

He said Unitrans, in cooperation with its partners, including the city of Davis, will be just as aggressive in pursuing additional competitive grants as it was in the first round of funding.

Unitrans鈥 new buses are not the first electric buses on campus. That distinction belongs to the , which started running in May 2020, connecting the Davis and Sacramento campuses.

Media Resources

Dateline Staff: Dave Jones, editor, 530-752-6556, dateline@ucdavis.edu; Cody Kitaura, News and Media Relations specialist, 530-752-1932, kitaura@ucdavis.edu.

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