Electric bus demonstration not happening in the valley this winter

Looking for other alternatives

[  by Mark Reaman  ]

The scheduled electric vehicle (EV) bus demonstration that was planned for Mountain Express and the RTA this winter has been cancelled. The demo had been slated to take place in early February but due to some reorganization issues within Proterra, the EV bus company, the demo has been cancelled.

Both Mountain Express managing director Jeremy Herzog and RTA executive director Scott Truex received word about the decision this week. “I am very sorry and disappointed that we have to cancel the demo in February,” Proterra regional sales director Ivy Compton wrote them. “I was very excited to put Proterra’s technology to the test in Crested Butte and Gunnison and review key differences in a purpose-built battery electric bus from a maintenance and operations standpoint.”

Herzog said the decision was disappointing as the transit agency had invested a lot of energy in designing a three-day program for the demo. He said he will see if there are other EV bus companies that might be interested in doing a similar demo in the valley but the earliest that would happen would probably be next winter.