City of Santa Maria unveils new electric buses

SANTA MARIA, Calif.- Bus riders in Santa Maria will be able to ride on the two new electric buses starting on Friday.

“When riders go on board, our bus will experience a whole new environment. We've got wood grain flooring. We have new perimeter seating. There's video infotainment system and public Wi-Fi and hand sanitizers. The air system also filters out bacteria and viruses such as covid. So it's a much cleaner environment," said Gamaliel Anguiano City of Santa Maria Transit Service Manager.

The buses are battery-powered, zero-emission vehicles and get 100 percent of their power from electricity. The city says it's committed to electric vehicles because they are clean, easy to operate and better for the environment.

“The benefits of being electric they're better for the environment. Electricity is a renewable source. Fossil fuels are expendable source that are very costly, and they also have impacts to our environment. Electric buses are clean and easy to operate," said Gamaliel Anguiano.

Bus riders in Santa Maria say they are excited for these buses.

“I’m super excited about Santa Maria with their new electric buses since I grew up here in Santa Maria. And it's nice seeing my community actually change for the better and seeing that the community is really excited about this," said Jose Martin.

The city plans to add 10 more electric buses by next summer and by 2024 they hope to have 18 total.