Electric buses arrive in Rochester

Battery-powered buses will soon be buzzing through Rochester.

The buses arrived in Rochester last week from New Flyer, a bus manufacturer based in St. Cloud, Minn.

The buses represent two milestones for Rochester Public Transit: the first electric vehicles in the fleet, and the first 60-foot articulated models.

RPT is now in the process of completing its inspection of the vehicles, with the goal of having them in service this June.

RPT says its drivers and mechanics will undergo several weeks of training and testing as the vehicles are readied for the road.

The vehicles were purchased using grant money from the Federal Transit Administration’s Low or No Emission Vehicle Program, which covered 85 percent of the $1.3 million per vehicle cost and 90 percent of the charging equipment cost. The city provided the remaining $884,000.

RPT plans to use the buses on Route 560X, which runs between downtown and the IBM and fairgrounds park-and-ride locations.

Cover photo courtesy RPT