AVTA reaches significant milestone
LANCASTER — The Antelope Valley Transit Authority reached another significant milestone in its quest to become the nation’s first all-electric bus fleet, as the agency’s zero-emission buses that are currently in service, collectively crossed the two million mile mark before the end of 2019.
On Dec. 24, a few days before the decade came to a close, AVTA zero-emission buses collectively accumulated two million service miles moving residents of the Antelope Valley around Lancaster, Palmdale and the unincorporated portions of northern Los Angeles County such as Pearblossom, Littlerock and Lake Los Angeles.
AVTA Board of Directors Chairman Marvin Crist highlighted some of the benefits to the community and
beyond that are a result of the electrification of AVTA’s fleet.
“Thus far, approximately 512,821 gallons of diesel fuel have been saved with the new battery electric fleet,” Crist said. “This equates to a net savings of $801,190 in fuel costs after paying for electricity. Even more impressive, those two million all-electric miles represent a carbon footprint reduction of more than 12 million pounds of CO2 and 29,063 pounds of particulate matter.”
Since February 2016, when the AVTA Board voted to award a contract to BYD to manufacture electric buses over a fiveyear period at BYD’s facility in Lancaster, AVTA has been on the path to pioneering battery electric bus transportation.
The project, which is nearing completion, has created a smarter, greener and more interconnected transit system serving the Antelope Valley and areas extending south into the Los Angeles basin and north to Edwards Air Force Base and the Mojave Air and Space Port. By combining groundbreaking electric bus technology with wireless inductive charging technology, AVTA’s innovative bus project is the first of its kind in the nation.
“AVTA actively operated 88 buses during December 2019, over half of which are zero-emission buses,” AVTA Executive Director and CEO Macy Neshati said. “Those 49 BYD electric buses, manufactured right here in the Antelope Valley, just completed two million miles of travel. Our goal from the start was to be the first transit agency to implement electric bus technology on a broad scale, and we have met that goal.”