CTA To Test All-Electric Buses

By Anna Deem in News on Oct 31, 2010 5:45PM

On Thursday, the Chicago Transit Authority received a $2.2 million federal grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to buy two all-electric buses. The battery-powered buses will be tested to see how they perform during CTA's regular service, officials said to the Chicago Tribune. "We anticipate that the buses will be used for shorter runs," CTA spokeswoman Noelle Gaffney said to the Tribune. Gaffney also noted that the buses will be used as part of the CTA's initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Both buses will be standard 40-foot models, but officials still have yet to decide which brand to purchase or when the testing project will begin. The buses will operate out of the same garage as CTA's other buses and will be furnished with quick-charging units in the garage. Currently, the CTA has 228 diesel-electric hybrid buses and 1,553 diesel buses, officials said.