By Delfina Florencio-Morales
Metro Transit 

Metro Transit has been awarded a $1.3 million Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Low or No-Emission grant to help with the purchase of three Proterra battery-electric buses in 2020. The new electric 40-foot buses will replace three retiring diesel buses in Metro’s fleet. 

Metro has always been firmly committed to finding new and different ways to reduce our carbon footprint. In 2007, Metro was the first transit system in Wisconsin to introduce hybrid electric buses. All Metro buses also run on ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel. To achieve this goal, Metro and the City of Madison have partnered with Madison Gas and Electric. MGE has committed to provide not only their technical expertise, but also local share funding for new charging infrastructure to ensure the most cost-effective and efficient use of this new type of vehicle power.

Proterra is a leader in the design and manufacturing of state of the art, zero-emission buses with more than 400 vehicles sold to 38 different municipal, university and commercial transit agencies in 20 states. Proterra Catalyst buses can operate up to 350 miles on a single charge. The power/fuel cost to operate a Proterra bus is $0.16 per mile compared to $0.63 per mile for Metro’s hybrid electric buses, $0.74 per mile for compressed natural gas vehicles, and $0.84 per mile for standard diesel buses. In addition to zero emissions and outstanding fuel economy, these buses create little to no noise when idling. In motion, they operate at a noise level that is measured below that of a normal conversation. It is also expected that these vehicles will carry a much lower maintenance cost than standard diesel buses.

Buses are expected to hit the streets in September of 2020.