All-Electric, Zero-Emissions Intercity Bus debut
SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. -- It's the start of a new era in public transportation for Santa Barbara County.
Local government officials and other dignitaries gathered in Buellton Friday for the ribbon cutting of the first, all-electric intercity commuter bus in the county.
The new, 45-foot battery-powered "Clean Air Express" is a zero-emission vehicle.
It will provide daily, round-trip service for folks in northern Santa Barbara County going to work in the South County.
The bus can travel up to 220 miles on a single charge and it replaces a diesel powered bus eliminating more than 50 tons of CO2 every year.
“I know that we're talking about one bus and we're excited, think about all the American school buses that are now going to transition to electric buses," said Rep. Salud Carbajal. "So think of that magnitude of what that will do for air emissions across the country.”
A partnership between the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments and Caltrans made the purchase of the new electric commuter bus possible.
Funding came from the "Road Repair and Accountability Act" of 2017. For more on this, click here.
