Santa Barbara MTD installs chargers for new all-electric, light-duty vehicles

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Santa Barbara MTD installed 14 new ChargePoint Level 2 electric vehicle chargers in their Terminal 1 yard in preparation for a new fleet of all-electric, light-duty vehicles consisting of 14 2020 Chevy Bolts.

MTD said these vehicles will be used in non-revenue service, mainly as “relief vehicles”, which bus operators use to move between shifts and buses throughout MTD’s service territory.

The new fleet of Chevy Bolts replaces an existing fleet of aging gasoline-powered sedans and will help reduce MTD’s emissions on the light-duty side of District operations.

In order to make the MTD facility ready to charge and maintain these new vehicles, Southern California Edison’s (SCE) Charge Ready Program covered the costs of electrical upgrades and other infrastructure work necessary to install 14 Level 2 EV chargers. SCE also provided a partial rebate for each charger.

Additionally, the Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District provided significant grant funds toward the charger costs from their Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Program.

“I’m really excited to announce our first Chevy Bolts that we’ve introduced to our fleet of relief vehicles and we’re thrilled with the partnership with the Air Pollution Control District to get this project done,” said MTD General Manager Jerry Estrada.

Because the pandemic makes an in-person ribbon-cutting event nearly impossible, MTD created a video showing the new vehicles and chargers and describing the project.

That video can be viewed on Santa Barbara MTD’s YouTube channel here.