Plans progress toward electrifying New York City’s bus fleet

The nation’s largest public bus system presented its first all-electric articulated bus Sunday under a strategy to transform New York City’s transit agency to a zero-emissions fleet by 2040.

The new vehicle was deployed on one of Manhattan’s busiest crosstown routes, the 14th Street busway. By March, the route is going to have 15 electric-articulated buses, which are 60-foot-long vehicles linked in the middle with a joint. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority prepares to spend $1.1 billion to modify depots for electric operations and buy about 500 electric buses for all five boroughs under its 2020-2024 Capital Plan.

The transit agency currently runs 10 electric standard buses that are leased under a three-year pilot program started in 2018 to test the technology. The vehicles are quieter than standard buses in addition to having no tailpipe emissions.

The buses’ batteries are estimated to run for 50 to 90 miles, or half a day, on a three-hour charge.