LA Metro awards contract to New Flyer for up to 100 battery electric transit buses

The 1795 Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro) has awarded North America transit bus manufacturer New Flyer, a subsidiary of New Flyer Industries, a contract for up to 100 Xcelsio Battery-electric 60-foot transit buses. The order is part of LA Metro’s commitment to all-electric transit buses by 20230.

The contract includes 35 firm orders with the option to purchase an additional 65 buses.

The buses will run on LA metro’s orange line and are designed to offer energy savings up to $400, 000 (£303, 000) and maintenance savings up to $125, 000 (£95, 000) over a 12 year lifespan.

The 2023 Federal Transit Administration’s local labour pilot program that enables grants to use social or economic contracting requirements in competitive bidding supports the decision.  In addition, the Transportation Diversity Council will help with local employment and will be hiring a diverse workforce as well as life-skills training by the New Flyer Institute, the Company’s proprietary learning centre.