Biz Briefs: Denver RTD, GreenPower, and More

Regional Transportation District, GreenPower Motor Company, and IndyGo recently announced news from their respective companies.

RTD Light Rail Seats Go From Fabric to Cleaner Vinyl

The Regional Transportation District (RTD) announced it is transitioning the seats on its light rail vehicles from fabric to vinyl. 

The first rail cars with the new seats were put into service on Nov. 14. The entire conversion will take about three years. 

The new seats support agency efforts to create a welcoming transit environment and will enhance the overall customer experience. In the 2023 RTD customer satisfaction survey, train cleanliness ranked ninth in importance.

The new vinyl seats can be wiped down easily, while it takes an employee an entire eight-hour shift to shampoo the 48 fabric seats of a train car. 

RTD plans to complete one car per week until RTD’s entire fleet of approximately 200 light rail vehicles has been converted. 

GreenPower Names McCandless Truck Center as a Commercial Dealer

GreenPower Motor Company Inc. announced the appointment of McCandless Truck Center as its commercial dealer serving the greater Denver and Las Vegas metropolitan areas.

“GreenPower is pleased to welcome McCandless Truck Center to our network of commercial EV truck dealers,” said Claus Tritt, GreenPower’s VP of Medium-Duty and Commercial Vehicle Sales. “Through McCandless, GreenPower is well positioned to meet the needs of fleet owners in the Rocky Mountains and Southwest looking to convert their fleets to battery electric. We have a well-established inventory of EV Star Cab and Chassis and are prepared to upfit those vehicles through Lion Truck Body in order to deliver a product to the customer within 60 to 90 days rather than the six to nine months that customers face elsewhere.”

McCandless will sell the GreenPower line of EV Star commercial products through its locations in Aurora, Colorado, and North Las Vegas, Nevada.

IndyGo Wins Clean Air Award

IndyGo announced it was recently selected as a 2023 Clean Air Award recipient by the National Air Filtration Association (NAFA). 

Lumin-Air nominated IndyGo for the award after the companies formed a partnership to increase clean, breathable air on IndyGo buses in 2022. 

Since then, IndyGo and Lumin-Air have equipped the transit agency’s full fleet with MERV-13 equivalent filtration and UV-C lighting to help continuously clean the air inside the buses.

“IndyGo is humbled by the nomination recognizing leadership and excellence in air filtration,” IndyGo President/CEO Inez Evans said. “Our agency is committed to investing in public transportation safety for our employees, passengers, and the community we serve. Clean air is not a luxury, but a necessity for the safety and confidence of public transportation. The impact of this chemical-free solution has increased our employees’ and passengers’ confidence in the air quality on our buses.”

Currently, all of IndyGo’s fixed route buses and paratransit buses are equipped with MERV-13 equivalent filtration and UV-C.