GreenPower Motor Co. Inc. (GreenPower) received payment for the next three EV350 all-electric transit buses for the City of Porterville, bringing the total electric bus fleet to five. This represents the halfway mark for Porterville’s initial order of 10 zero-emissions transit buses. The buses will replace all of the existing CNG-powered transit buses. The EV350 was designed and built by the Calif.-based GreenPower.

In addition, GreenPower has made significant progress on the last five EV350 all-electric transit buses, which are set for delivery this fall.

The City of Porterville is located in the San Joaquin Valley, which has some of the worst air pollution in the U.S. The benefits of deploying the EV350 all-electric buses include cleaner air and quieter operation.

The City of Porterville’s route requirements range from 190 miles to 230 miles each weekday. GreenPower configured these buses with 432 kWh of batteries (standard configuration is 320 kWh) to handle these requirements. The price of each bus fully configured is approximately $820,000; the City of Porterville received grant funding to cover the cost of the new all-electric buses.

Electric buses and more will be discussed at BusCon 2018, which will be held in Indianapolis Oct. 1 to 3.