MAINTENANCE UPDATE
One of the largest deployments in North America features long-range Proterra® electric buses with
most onboard energy storage and first-of-its-kind overhead charging infrastructure.
Edmonton Transit Service unveils
electric buses and EV garages
In July Edmonton Transit Service (ETS) unveiled its first 21
Proterra electric buses and brand new, purpose-built electric
bus garages. ETS has 19 more Proterra buses on the way this
year to make up a 40-bus fleet, one of the largest purchases of
electric buses in Canadian history. With this deployment, ETS also
becomes the first to implement in-depot overhead charging on the
continent. ETS will begin putting the electric buses into service in
early August.
“For many years I’ve advocated for the adoption of electric
buses in our city, and I’m happy to see that Edmonton is leading
the way,” said Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson. “Our purchase is
historic in that it represents the largest purchase of electric buses
in Canadian history. Electric buses are a major component of the
future of public transit in our city and across Canada, because
they save the city money and benefit not only transit users who will
get to experience the perks of a quieter commute with decreased
emissions, but also Edmontonians who aren’t regular commuters
on our transit system, as they’ll also benefit from the city meeting
its energy and climate goals.”
An ETS electric bus connected to an overhead charger
“From the start, we’ve been very intentional about how we’ve
designed our electric bus program,” said Ryan Birch, director
of transit operations at ETS. “We’ve taken a unique approach to
charging our buses inside transit facilities. This provides important
redundancy that makes our electric bus fleet more reliable for
transit customers, and will help us continue to modernize our
transit system.”
Edmonton selected the 40-foot Proterra Catalyst E2 max vehicle
with 660 kWh of onboard energy and the DuoPower™ drivetrain.
The E2 max bus has six Proterra battery packs on board – the
most energy storage on any 40-foot electric bus – enabling these
vehicles to get approximately 350 km of range on ETS routes. This
vehicle model famously broke the world record for the longest
distance traveled by any electric vehicle on a single charge, and
ETS is the first customer in North America to put it into service.
“This is one of the most impressive end-to-end deployments of
battery-electric transit buses we’ve seen in North America,” said
Jack Allen, CEO of Proterra. “The ETS deployment showcases
how to successfully implement an electric bus fleet and charging
infrastructure for current fleet needs, as well as plan for expansion
in the near future. We are proud to partner with ETS to deliver
clean, quiet transportation to Edmonton.”
Charging systems at Edmonton Transit Service
To charge its new buses, Edmonton also unveiled the new
Kathleen Andrews Garage, named after Edmonton’s first woman
transit operator, who worked for the City for 23 years. ETS
collaborated with the Proterra Energy™ team to install 26 ABB 150
kW depot chargers connected to inverted pantographs and seven
60 kW Proterra plug-in chargers in the maintenance area, all of
which are interoperable and standardized. ETS bus operators are
able to drive the buses into assigned parking spots and connect
to the respective overhead chargers with the flip of a switch, and
begin charging immediately or wait until a designated time when
fleet management software will initiate charging. ETS, Proterra,
and ABB created a first-of-its-kind installation in North America
using RFID technology, Wi-Fi, and two-step authentication that
ensures each bus connects to its respective overhead charger.
ETS uses the Proterra APEX™ Connected Vehicle Intelligence
System to monitor and manage its fleet of electric buses and
charging systems. By using the APEX system, ETS will be able
to easily monitor the status of its vehicles and gather information
such as state of charge, charger status, bus efficiency, distance
traveled, and more.
Providing more than 87 million rides a year in Edmonton,
ETS currently operates approximately 1000 diesel buses in a
700-square-kilometer service area. The City of Edmonton has
a goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent by
2030, and ETS plays an important role in achieving this goal. The
completion of this project represents a significant milestone in
ETS’ efforts to operate a cleaner fleet, reduce operating costs, and
modernize service with cutting-edge vehicle technology.
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