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Proterra Bus Fire Prompts California Agency to Consider Shelving Electric Bus Fleet

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Elderberry:
Washington Free Beacon by Matthew Foldi • July 23, 2021

An electric bus manufactured by Proterra caught fire while charging in a southern California city that is now considering taking the electric buses off the road, according to government records.

The Foothill Transit agency, which serves the valleys surrounding Los Angeles, will decide on Friday whether costly Proterra buses purchased in the last decade are still operable. Problems cited by the agency include not only the bus that caught fire in what's described as a "thermal event," but also buses that melt in the California heat and have transmission failures. Roland Cordero, the agency's director of maintenance and vehicle technology, says the problems with the buses are exacerbated by Proterra's inability to help with repairs.

"With the number of failures we are experiencing and the inability of Proterra to provide parts, these [Battery Electric Buses] BEBs will only get worse as we continue to operate them whenever the BEBs are available for service," Cordero wrote ahead of Friday's executive board meeting, where the agency will debate taking Proterra buses out of service.

The electric bus company, which has been hailed by the Biden administration as the future of mass transportation, has seen its stock plummet in the last month as reports pile up about problems with its product. In Philadelphia, mechanical failures and weak battery performance forced city officials to shelve buses received as recently as 2019. In Duluth, Minnesota, the buses were taken off the road because their brakes couldn't handle the city's hills. The publicly known failings of Proterra's buses have not deterred key members of the Biden administration, including the president himself, from touting the company on multiple occasions.

More: https://freebeacon.com/biden-administration/proterra-bus-fire-prompts-california-agency-to-consider-shelving-electric-bus-fleet/

sneakypete:
That's ok. It's not like it cost them anything to buy them. I am sure the taxpayers will understand when they want to raise taxes again to buy diesel busses.

PeteS in CA:
Philly hasn't had good experience with Proterra's Magic Buses, either, https://www.gopbriefingroom.com/index.php/topic,442800.0.html , though less dramatic.

Lithium batteries don't like shock and vibration, and are really finicky about their charging profile.

Some bunch of geniuses in the DoD want the US military to be stuck with vehicles whose range is limited by their battery life and may burst into flames if they hit too many bumps too hard.

sneakypete:

--- Quote from: PeteS in CA on July 25, 2021, 01:39:01 pm ---Philly hasn't had good experience with Proterra's Magic Buses, either, https://www.gopbriefingroom.com/index.php/topic,442800.0.html , though less dramatic.

Lithium batteries don't like shock and vibration, and are really finicky about their charging profile.

Some bunch of geniuses in the DoD want the US military to be stuck with vehicles whose range is limited by their battery life and may burst into flames if they hit too many bumps too hard.

--- End quote ---

@PeteS in CA

I am guessing they come from an area where the batteries are manufactured. Just a wild hunch,mind you.

PeteS in CA:
Government Shouldn’t Pick Winners And Losers

http://www.capoliticalreview.com/top-stories/government-shouldnt-pick-winners-and-losers/


--- Quote ---The story of Foothill Transit’s electric bus purchase is a cautionary tale with much to teach us about government efforts to promote new technology.

Foothill Transit was an early adopter of electric buses, which the state of California has mandated by requiring transit agencies to have 100% zero-emission buses by 2040. Foothill began buying electric buses in 2010 from a South Carolina company called Proterra. Some of the money for the purchase came from the Federal Transit Administration. As a condition of the funding, the buses were required to last for 12 years.

But nobody told the buses, which gave out after seven or eight years.

At a recent meeting, Foothill Transit’s board voted to try to return 13 first-generation electric buses to the Federal Transit Administration. It will cost the local transit agency about $5 million.

Foothill Transit’s fleet of 32 electric buses has been plagued with mechanical problems. According to a report presented to the board, up to 67% of the buses were out of commission during 2019 and 2020, and it’s been difficult to get parts to repair them. One bus was a total loss in January 2020 when it caught on fire while recharging.
--- End quote ---

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