California-based Antelope Valley Transit Authority’s (AVTA’s) electric buses recently reached five million service miles.

The agency’s zero-emission fleet rolled through the milestone on May 7, transporting more than 450,000 residents of the Antelope Valley around Lancaster, Palmdale, and the unincorporated portions of northern Los Angeles County such as Pearblossom, Littlerock, and Lake Los Angeles.

“In those five million electric miles, approximately 1,282,051 gallons of diesel fuel have been saved,” said AVTA Chairman Marvin Crist. “This equates to a net savings of $1,640,352 in fuel costs after paying for electricity. Even more impressive, those five million all-electric miles represent a carbon footprint reduction of more than 30 million pounds of CO2 and 72,500 pounds of particulate matter."

AVTA has been on the path to pioneering electric bus transportation since February 2016, when the agency’s board of directors voted to award a contract to BYD to manufacture electric buses over a five-year period at BYD’s facility in Lancaster. By combining electric bus technology with wireless inductive charging technology, AVTA has since created a smarter, greener, and more interconnected transit system.

AVTA currently operates 65 vehicles in its local, fixed-route fleet, all of which are zero-emission, according to Crist.

“The non-electric buses are for commuter service only and their all-electric counterparts will start arriving in June 2021, assuring a transition of our commuter fleet to all electric by next December,” he added.