BC Transit will be adding electric buses to its fleet of diesel-powered and hybrid vehicles this year.

The system's first electric buses are scheduled to arrive this summer.

Broome County public transportation commissioner Greg Kilmer said the move toward electrification is "well underway" with development of the needed charging infrastructure.

A bus route designation sign in downtown Binghamton. (Photo: Bob Joseph/WNBF News)
A bus route designation sign in downtown Binghamton. (Photo: Bob Joseph/WNBF News)
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During a WNBF News interview, Kilmer said the state and federal governments are providing a significant amount of money to help pay for the transition.

Kilmer said the county expects the delivery of its first six battery electric buses in August. He said seven more electric buses are to be added to the BC Transit fleet at a "date to be determined."

A bus at the BC Junction on Prospect Avenue in Binghamton. (Photo: Bob Joseph/WNBF News)
A bus at the BC Junction on Prospect Avenue in Binghamton. (Photo: Bob Joseph/WNBF News)
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The commissioner said plans call for the addition of solar panels at the existing transit center on Old Mill Road in Vestal. He said a sophisticated battery electric storage system will be developed to "capture some of the sun's energy to help offset the cost of recharging our buses."

The new electric buses will be manufactured by Gillig in California. Kilmer said there now is enough charging infrastructure in place so the buses can be driven from the West Coast to Broome County. Originally, it was expected the buses would need to be transported from the factory on flatbed trucks.

Kilmer said the cost of a battery electric bus with the associated charging dispenser is about $1.3 million. That compares to a cost of $600,000 for a conventional diesel bus and about $800,000 for a third-generation hybrid bus.

He said the current price of electric buses is "why it's critical that we rely on state and federal grant funding to offset this incremental cost."

Kilmer said the net benefit should be a lower operating cost in the long run.

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Contact WNBF News reporter Bob Joseph: email bob@wnbf.com or call (607) 545-2250. For breaking news and updates on developing stories, follow @BinghamtonNow on Twitter.

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