Converting diesel buses to electric sometimes cheaper (NextCity)

Faced with a goal to achieve a zero-emissions transit fleet by 2040, TriMet in Portland is exploring all of its options. The obvious solution for transit agencies to get to zero-emissions is to replace fossil-fuel-burning buses with electric ones. But TriMet is also considering converting its existing fleet to battery-electric. This approach would have several advantages: The agency would receive its converted buses relatively soon after placing the order, meaning it would be able to reap the cost savings, reduced emissions, and reduced maintenance costs sooner. And a conversion would allow a perfectly good bus body to have another chance at life carrying passengers.

While the agency hasn’t yet decided whether it will convert all of the buses in its almost-700-vehicle fleet, it’s already taken steps toward zero emissions, which include converting several diesel-fuel-burning buses, including an accordion bus, into battery-electric. According to TriMet, the conversion of the accordion bus cost $1.2 million and the conventional buses $718,000 each, about $200,000 less than purpose-built electric buses, regardless of size, purchased by other agencies across the country.

The accordion bus is currently being tested by packing it with large barrels of water to simulate a bus full of passengers, says TriMet spokesperson Tia York. “If testing proves successful, TriMet could accept delivery of the three converted 40-foot buses, by the end of the year.”

Although the idea of converting buses to battery-electric has been around for close to a decade, few examples exist across the nation, mainly because the buses don’t have as much range as a purpose-built electric bus. “While a retrofitted diesel bus running on [an] electric battery is a great improvement in terms of emissions, it generally does not perform as well in terms of range as does a purpose-built one,” said John Boesel, president and CEO of high-tech clean transportation nonprofit CalStart. “Purpose-built electric buses perform better because they are optimized for the electric powertrain and batteries.”

Lightning E-Motors, based in Loveland, Colorado, converted one 14-year-old diesel bus owned by the city of Boulder into an electric one. It was something they had never done before, and it worked out only because that bus had an engine failure that would have cost more to replace as opposed to buying new.

But the body was still in decent condition, says Nick Bettis, who directs business development at Lightning E-Motors. “​​The [diesel bus] bodies are built to last for 20 years, [while] the powertrains usually last only about five.” They’ve since gone on to offer conversions on shuttle vans, delivery trucks, and charter buses. “So instead of replacing it with a gasoline or diesel powertrain the company’s fleets are coming to us and saying ‘Why don’t you put electric powertrain instead,’” adds Bettis.

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