NJ TRANSIT’s Newton Avenue Bus Garage in Camden is ready to plug into the future of electric buses. NJ TRANSIT President & CEO Kevin S. Corbett announced the installation of eight Electric Vehicle Chargers (EVCs) at the garage have been completed.

The chargers and associated infrastructure upgrades represent the next step in NJ TRANSIT’s goal of transitioning to a 100% zero-emissions bus fleet by 2040. The work sets the stage for a deployment of the agency’s first eight battery electric buses in Camden later this year.

“With the successful installation of the charging infrastructure at our Newton Avenue bus garage, which will support our eight electric buses arriving later this year, NJ TRANSIT celebrates a significant milestone on our roadmap to a 100 percent zero-emissions bus fleet,” said NJ TRANSIT President & CEO Kevin S. Corbett. “NJ TRANSIT’s Zero-Emissions Bus Program is aligned with Governor Murphy's Energy Master Plan, and we remain committed to achieving our goal of a fully zero-emissions bus fleet by 2040.”

In September 2020, NJ TRANSIT’s board awarded a $3.235 million contract to Scalfo Electric of Vineland to renovate the Newton Avenue Bus Garage with electric vehicle charging stations and other associated infrastructure modifications.

The Camden project is a first of its kind initiative for NJ TRANSIT, which will test electric buses in real world conditions on specific routes, which will provide invaluable data and information on the effects of weather, passenger volume, road conditions, and other factors on electric bus performance, including travel distance available between recharging. The project will also review the infrastructure resources and work required to modernize NJ TRANSIT’s bus garages to accept new charging stations, and the significantly greater power feeds needed to energize them.

The Bus Garage Modernization project was identified as a capital need in NJ TRANSIT’s Five-Year Capital Plan and is aligned with NJ TRANSIT’s commitment to achieving a full transition to 100% zero-emission bus fleet by 2040 and meeting the schedule included in Gov. Murphy’s Zero-Emissions-Bus Initiative.

As part of the continued progress on the ambitious Bus Garage Modernization project, the NJ TRANSIT board just approved a $4.3 million contract with AECOM for 100% Final Design and Construction Assistance for the Hilton Garage charging infrastructure in Maplewood, as well as a systemwide survey and condition assessment for all 16 of NJ TRANSIT’s bus garages to identify the structural, power & utility, and information technology upgrades necessary, as well as other physical elements, to support zero-emissions buses.