Photo: By Nate Pitkin | Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
California's Antelope Valley Transit Authority completed the nation's first large-scale transit fleet electrification effort, 18 years early. The project, which began in 2014with two buses from Chinese manufacturer BYD, now has 87 electric buses and 600 employees from the BYD factory. Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris, says, "We want to create a template for the world to follow." With strong support from elected officials, AVTA secured nearly $105 million in grants to buy buses, such as local city buses, coach buses for commuter lines, and GreenPower vans for microtransit. AVTA has turned fuel costs into a financial gain. As of January, it costs$0.51 per mile for electric buses, compared to$1.05 per mile driven to run diesel buses. AVTA tracks its fuel reduction, selling the credits and paying $0.15 per mile driven.
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