CT Transit unveils first all-electric bus in its fleet

The electric buses can go about 200 miles on an overnight charge.

News 12 Staff

Oct 22, 2021, 6:48 PM

Updated 1,085 days ago

Share:

CT Transit officials were joined by state leaders Friday to unveil the first all-electric bus in its fleet.
News 12's John Craven, along with top state leaders, took a ride on the new bus. The electric buses can go about 200 miles on an overnight charge.
The first bus will end up in New Haven in a few weeks. The Stamford-Norwalk area is getting three electric buses. In addition, New Haven is getting 10 buses and six are heading to Hartford.
The buses cost $250,000 more than a hybrid. The federal government is picking up more than 80% of the tab with money from the Volkswagen emissions settlement paying the rest.
"There is a price point difference in purchasing it, but the total cost of ownership in fuel savings is actually around several hundred thousand dollars over the lifetime of the bus," says Garrett Eucalitto, the Connecticut deputy transportation commissioner.
Eucalitto says the entire gas fleet will be replaced in the next 15 years. Most of the buses probably won't be on the road until next summer.
"We have around 700 buses in our fleet," says Eucalitto. "So, it's the largest fleet of buses in the state of Connecticut."
CT Transit has the option to buy 40 more buses.
Officials say plugging in the buses costs a lot less than gas and is cleaner.
"Many of the areas in our state that would be most affected by buses are the same communities that have more vulnerability when it comes to health, " says Dr. Manisha Juthani, the Connecticut public health commissioner.