New Flyer of America Inc. congratulated the Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (TriMet) as it welcomed its first battery-electric Xcelsior CHARGE transit bus.

New Flyer previously reported the order for five forty-foot battery-electric Xcelsior CHARGE transit buses in September 2017. TriMet partnered with Portland General Electric (PGE) to purchase, own, and maintain six ABB chargers and the related infrastructure.

The program was funded in part with a $3.4-million grant from the Federal Transit Administration’s 2016 Low and No Emission (Low-No) Vehicle Deployment Program.

TriMet is operating the forty-foot Xcelsior CHARGE bus on Line 62-Murray Blvd in the Portland, Oregon metro area. The route covers 13 miles and 700 feet in elevation change.

The pilot bus will be joined by four additional Xcelsior CHARGE buses this summer, creating an all-electric bus route. The buses will operate between the Sunset Transit Center and Washington Square Transit Center, with depot chargers installed at TriMet’s Merlo Operating Facility and one on-route charger installed at the Sunset Transit Center to rapidly recharge batteries each round trip.

TriMet connects people in the Portland, Oregon surrounding areas, providing more than 97 million trips per year.