Bus and coach manufacturer NFI Group Inc (NFI) announced on 16 June that California Porterville Transit has ordered three zero-emission buses (ZEBs).
NFI received the order through its subsidiary, New Flyer of America Inc. (‘New Flyer’). The contract for three battery-electric Excelsior Charge NG™ buses makes Porterville Transit the twelfth agency in California to purchase from New Flyer.
New Flyer’s 35ft heavy-duty Xcelsior bus is comprised of high-energy batteries, advanced protective packaging and a new lightweight electric traction drive system with up to 90 percent energy recovery. The bus was first introduced in 2021.
Porterville Transit delivers almost 700,000 annual rides on fixed-route bus lines in Tulare County, California. The three battery-electric buses from New Flyer add to the agency’s fleet of alternative fuel vehicles, increasing the share of fleet equipment that is zero or low-emission at the tailpipe.
The contract meets the California Air Resources Board’s requirement for agency bus fleets to be 100% zero-emission by 2040. This is Porterville Transit’s first contract with NFI.
Chris Stoddart, President of North American Bus and Coach, NFI, said:Built on NFI’s proven Xcelsior platform with over 16,000 buses delivered across North America, the Xcelsior CHARGE NG is our most advanced battery-electric bus. Providing up to 440kWh of energy and 220 miles of range on a single charge, our extended range buses will deliver clean, safe, and quiet sustainable transportation to the Porterville community.
New Flyer, based in North America, supports over 35,000 heavy-duty transit buses actively in service. 8,600 of these are battery-electric and 1,900 are zero-emission.
