City Of Ames: Battery Electric Buses Are Coming! Help Decide Their New Look!

Press release from the City of Ames:

01/15/2022 1:00 PM

CyRide will soon be getting two new battery electric buses, which are scheduled to be delivered by the end of June 2022. These clean vehicles were funded by the Federal Transit Administration Low- or No-Emission Grant program for $1.6 million and the Iowa Department of Transportation Volkswagen Settlement Environmental Mitigation Trust for $390,000.

The new buses will lower carbon emissions, control noise pollution, and reduce the operating costs of CyRide’s large bus fleet. Instead of an engine burning diesel fuel, these vehicles run from 564-kWh batteries, which could power a house for an entire month. These buses will look familiar as they are from the same manufacturer as CyRide’s articulated buses.

“This is terrific news for CyRide, our riders and the Ames community,” said Director Barbara Neal. “Supporting public transportation is a great way to reduce your own carbon footprint, while moving to electric buses will help CyRide reduce its emissions. We are grateful for the funding and excited to implement this next phase of public transit improvements.”

CyRide wants to draw attention to these unique buses while retaining many of the design elements and colors of the rest of the fleet. To help choose a new design, CyRide is asking Ames residents and Iowa State University students, faculty, and staff to help make the final decision on how these buses will look.

A survey has been added to CyRide’s website www.cyride.com and https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/electriCyd to enable participants to select their favorite design. The voting will remain open until 1 p.m. Friday, Jan. 21, 2022.

CyRide will post the winning design after the Transit Board meeting on January 26, 2022.

This press release was produced by the City of Ames. The views expressed here are the author’s own.