The first of TriMet’s new battery-electric buses manufactured by GILLIG have been delivered to Portland, Oregon.
These four units are part of an order for 24 long-range electric buses.
The new vehicles will now undergo rigorous testing and inspections prior to passenger service. The buses could enter service as soon as this spring, while the remainder of the order is scheduled to be delivered by the summer.
The units were driven up to Portland from GILLIG’s manufacturing centre in Livermore, California. On this journey, they experienced freeway traffic and mountain passes across a total of 650 miles.
These new battery-electric buses will expand TriMet’s fleet of zero-emission vehicles. Its first-generation battery-electric buses were introduced in 2019. These are short-range buses that charge mid-route. Longer-range models were then introduced in 2019.
Now, the latest vehicles can hold even more charge than the second-generation vehicles thanks to a 33 percent increase in energy storage. This will provide an estimated range of at least 150 miles.
Unlike previous models, TriMet’s third-generation electric buses are also equipped with flexible charging. Alongside charging ports, they have overhead charge rails that will connect with TriMet’s fast charging stations in Beaverton.
This order marks TriMet’s largest order of electric buses to date, thus advancing its goal to have a fully zero-emissions bus fleet by 2040.
