CTA Takes Electric Buses To The Streets

By Anna Deem in News on Apr 17, 2011 5:45PM

We knew it was coming eventually, and now it's finally here. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the Chicago Transit Authority will begin to test out two electric buses on the roads. On Friday, the board approved the purchase of two 35- to 40-foot, lithium-ion battery-powered buses, with funding from a $2.2 million Federal Transit Administration grant.

The two buses will be tested for about a year, to see how long the buses will be able to travel on a single charge with passengers on board and how they fare in Chicago's erratic weather. Traveling 30 to 40 miles on a single battery charge is what is typically expected from electric buses, the CTA said via the Chicago Tribune. The grant also includes funding for charging stations, to be set up at the ends of routes or in bus garages. Electric buses first appeared in Seoul, South Korea, and are currently used in Burbank, Calif. and San Antonio, Texas.