What’s 30-feet long, bright orange and runs on electricity? Boulder’s newest old bus, the first in its fleet to go fossil fuel-free, courtesy of a Front Range company specializing in conversions that are both cheaper and faster than buying brand new.
Via Mobility Services, which operates the HOP line for the city of Boulder, commissioned and paid for Bus No. 15 to be stripped of its non-functional diesel engine and outfitted with an electric power train. Lightning Systems of Loveland performed the retrofit; Longmont’s UQM Technologies provided the electric motor The process cost $260,000 and took roughly four months.
The bus plugs in overnight; one charge powers a full day’s route. The HOP hits some of Boulder’s busiest spots, looping from Twenty Ninth Street Mall to the University of Colorado, University Hill and downtown.
Lightning Systems has been converting smaller vehicles for a decade, but this is the first city transit bus it has done — the company hopes to do more as Boulder looks to green its public transportation system.
Boulder in mid-2017 said it was time to start replacing the 21-year-old HOP fleet with cleaner, greener buses. To do so would cost $10.5 million; only $1.5 million has been secured through a state grant, enough to pay for two electric buses on order, according to city spokeswoman Meghan Wilson.
At more than $750,000 each, it’s significantly more expensive to buy new rather than convert. It takes longer, too: the major makers of such vehicles are all in China. Order-to-delivery time runs 18 months, on average, said Lyndsy Morse, Via’s communications manager.
Via paid for the transition of Bus No. 15, but will be seeking funding along with the city for nine other conversions if all goes well with this initial re-power.
“The whole plan was when we got the opportunity, we wanted to prove it was a good model,” Morse said.
“Via is kind of our benchmark,” added Bonnie Trowbridge, marketing and communications director for Lightning Systems. “We know it works, we know it’s going to work, (but) it’s going to provide a lot of data for us with regard to how well this works.”
To make the buses truly free from oil and gas dependence, Via also is seeking money to expand its solar power capabilities, so the buses can charge on all renewable energy. Other options are on the table, too: Morse said an unnamed individual has pledged to donate a wind turbine to the 63rd Street facility.
As for Bus No. 15, it should be ferrying riders soon; last-minute touches are being completed now. When it does hit the streets, it will blend in with the other buses. The exterior is the same as the other recently redesigned HOP buses except for a disclaimer on the battery coverings: 100 percent electric.
Passengers and passersby might notice something a little different with their other senses. Electric buses are quieter and “less smelly,” Trowbridge said.
Shay Castle: 303-473-1626, castles@dailycamera.com or twitter.com/shayshinecastle
