This week the largest Special Olympics ever was hosted in the City of Long Beach, California  where thousands of athletes, coaches, dignitaries and families descended upon Los Angeles for week of uplifting camaraderie, sportsmanship and competition. Handling the transportation and logistics of more than sixty-five hundred (6,500) athletes required importing charter bus operators from across the nation as well as utilizing as many local resources as possible, which included coach & transit bus manufacturer BYD Motors.

"World Games Host Town and the City of Long Beach is grateful for the buses and drivers that BYD provided to transport our athletes while touring Long Beach," stated Long Beach Community Foundation President/CEO, and 2015 Host Town Transportation Coordinator Marcelle Epley. "BYD stepped up majorly as one of our key supporters and their tremendous efforts made our athletes feel welcomed. We depended on them, and they came through 100%."    

At the Opening Ceremonies on Saturday evening presided over by First Lady Michelle Obama and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, BYD Motors President and CEO Stella Li commented, "BYD could not be more proud to be a transportation provider for the 2015 World Games. With athletes competing tomorrow we are happy to see our Zero-Emissions electric buses operating both here and now in service at LA Metro hopefully providing a cleaner environment for these magnificent athletes to compete in." 

Both the cities of Los Angeles and Long Beach have opted to purchase 100% battery-electric transit buses from BYD Motors in each of their latest procurements. "Los Angeles led the way years ago with the mass adoption of clean-air natural gas transit buses, and we are excited to again be the first large American city taking this final step to zero-emissions transportation by electrifying our fleet," said LA County Supervisor Michael Antonovich at a press event in May.

BYD's Battery Electric bus employs many advanced technologies developed in-house by a staff of more than 15,000 R&D engineers including the advanced, BYD Iron-Phosphate battery which boasts the only 12-year-battery warranty in the industry. Combined with BYD's proprietary in-wheel hub motors and regenerative braking system, the BYD battery electric bus offers the lowest life cycle cost of ownership, according to the company.

The BYD electric bus delivers a host of operational and environmental benefits for public transit riders, bus operators and residents of the community – it is very quiet and ensures a comfortable ride without vibrations, jerks or the noise associated with the conventional buses and combustion engines. The bus can also drive for more than 155 miles even in heavy city traffic on a single charge.

As of April 1st, 2015, BYD bus fleets have completed greater than 38 million miles "in revenue service" and have been evaluated by more than 110 cities in 36 countries around the world. To date, BYD has sold just over 5,000 electric buses globally.