Transportation representatives, partners cut ribbon for new electric buses 

Valley Regional Transit (VRT) has added four electric-powered buses to its Boise routes, and, during a mid-September ribbon-cutting event, hinted more are likely to come, and not just in Boise.

City officials like Boise Mayor Lauren McLean and City Council President Elaine Clegg joined representatives from VRT, Idaho Power and Proterra — the company providing the technology for the buses — on Sept. 14 to announce plans for growing VRT’s electric bus fleet. The four buses shown at the event are the start of a planned 12-vehicle fleet, with the potential of becoming a 36-vehicle fleet, said Kelli Badesheim, executive director for VRT, at the event, as VRT made physical developments in 2020 to its Boise site that houses the charging islands to accommodate up to that many. Eight more buses are expected to arrive and be deployed throughout Ada County later this year and into early next.

“Each time a battery electric Proterra bus replaces a diesel bus, 230,000 pounds of carbon pollution are avoided each year, along with other pollutants known to harm human health,” said Mark Hollenbeck, regional sales director for Proterra. “Battery electric transit buses offer a low total cost of ownership and less volatile fuel costs when compared to internal combustion engine vehicles. Further, because electric buses have fewer parts, require no oil changes or emission tests, it places less wear on braking systems, and maintenance expenses are substantially lower compared to diesel alternatives.”

Hollenbeck added that without a combustion engine on board, riders are likely to enjoy a quieter experience aboard the electric bus, and the community will likely benefit from reduced noise pollution.

The ZX5 battery-electric buses and the charging facilities were funded by the Federal Transit Administration, Idaho Power and support from Boise and Meridian.

Adam Richins, senior vice president and chief operating officer at Idaho Power, touted the affordability of powering the electric buses, stating that Idaho Power’s rates are 20% to 30% below the national average, meaning it is less than $1 per gallon for the bus’s electric power.

“Gas is not getting cheaper,” Richins said, adding that electricity is really reliable. Idaho Power touts keeping electricity flowing 99.96% of the time, and electric power consumers don’t have to worry about gas shortages or volatility in other nations affecting fuel availability.

“I’m here to tell you the electricity that charges these buses, it’s some of the cleanest in the nation,” Richins also said. “It comes from the waters in the Snake River. It comes from the wind in our valleys; it comes from the solar in our skies, and about 40-50% of the energy electricity going into these vehicles is from our hydro resources. Another 20% is from solar, wind, geothermal and other clean resources…and it’s getting cleaner. Many of you may know that we voluntarily, as a company, decided to move to 100% (clean) by 2045.”

Clegg and McLean spoke to the city’s goals of having 100% clean energy as well, both as a government institution and a geographical area.

“It’s steps like this that will make it happen,” McLean said, adding Boise city officials are encouraging residents to drive one less trip every day and to think about how they can get around in different ways to drop carbon emissions. Both Clegg and McLean thanked VRT, Republic Services — which has deployed electric vehicles in its refuse collection services — and other stakeholders in their collaboration on the electrification movement.

“Electrification is key,” McLean said. “It’s clean electricity (that ensures) that our community is healthy, that our economy is strong and resilient and that we’re prepared for the future.”

Currently, 85% of VRT’s vehicle fleet runs on low-emission compressed natural gas. The Sept. 14 event unveiled four 40-foot buses that will be in service in early October. The remaining eight buses arriving later in the year (or early next) will be 35 feet.

The buses have a top speed of 65 miles per hour, according to VRT, and can travel between 163 and 232 miles on a charge. It takes about three hours to recharge the batteries.

VRT board member Luke Cavener closed the speaking portion of the event by sharing plans for a dedicated transit line for Meridian area job seekers and employers, and the future availability for transit lines connecting Meridian to surrounding cities.

Cavener said, for the very first time in Meridian’s history, there are as many people traveling from outside of Boise into Meridian as Meridian residents traveling outside of the city.

“A lot of people think that public transit is boring, but I actually think public transit kicks a lot of ass,” Cavener said. “And I’m really excited about the innovative technology that we’re seeing here today. I think it’s a step in the right direction in providing cost effective solutions to not just Boise, not just Meridian, but the entire region.”

“But,” he added, “it also takes you; we need riders of choice. So that’s my ask today: over the next week, over the next month, over the next three months, be a rider of choice; hop on a bus; go from Meridian to downtown Boise.”