First Electric Bus Arrives in Anchorage for Four Month Trial Period

*** MEDIA/PHOTO EVENT *** Thursday, January 11, 2018 ***

Public Transportation

1/9/2018

ANCHORAGE – The Municipality of Anchorage’s (MOA) Public Transportation Department (PTD) is hosting a press and Anchorage Assembly tour of the new 40-foot Proterra Catalyst® E2 electric/battery powered bus before it officially hits Anchorage streets next week.

The MOA and Proterra will debut the new bus at a kickoff event and Anchorage Assembly tour starting at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 11, 2018 at the PTD Administration Building, 3600 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Ave., Anchorage.  The bus will begin serving routes for the general public starting Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018 for a four month trial period.

Kickoff Event/Assembly Tour – January 11, 2018

10:30-11am - Bus will be available for press photos

11 - 11:15am – Presentation/Overview will be given to the Anchorage Assembly members and Press

11:15 - 12pm - Bus driving tour to the Dimond Transit Center and back

The four month trial period will test how the bus performs in winter weather, how cold temperatures affect the battery life and whether it’s feasible to pursue an electric bus fleet in the future. PTD partnered with MOA’s Solid Waste Services (SWS) to lease the bus. SWS will also be monitoring its performance to help establish the feasibility of electric garbage trucks.

A Proterra Catalyst bus is 100% electric, emitting zero tailpipe emissions or pollutants—reducing CO2 emissions by an astounding 243,980 lbs. annually per diesel vehicle replaced. Without a combustion engine, a Catalyst vehicle also substantially reduces noise pollution.

The bus will operate everyday on routes 10, 25, and 35 beginning Jan. 16. Riders are invited to share their experiences riding the battery-powered bus on social media using #ElectricRideANC.

For more information, please contact Bart Rudolph at (907) 343-8490 or visit http://www.peoplemover.org/.

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About People Mover

People Mover is a division of the Municipality of Anchorage’s Public Transportation Department (PTD) and is the largest public transit provider in the State of Alaska. People Mover offers safe, reliable and affordable transportation services about 10,500 times per weekday and its buses travel 2.1 million miles annually. Besides operating People Mover, MOA’s PTD also operates AnchorRIDES and RideShare services. Learn more about People Mover at http://www.peoplemover.org/ where you’ll also find information about mTicket, People Mover’s mobile ticketing app, and how to get bus arrival times via text messaging.

About Proterra

Proterra is a leader in the design and manufacture of zero-emission heavy-duty vehicles, enabling bus fleet operators to significantly reduce operating costs while delivering clean, quiet transportation to local communities across the United States. With more than 495 vehicles sold to 62 different municipal, university, airport, federal and commercial transit agencies in 29 states, Proterra is committed to providing state of the art, high-performance vehicles to meet today’s growing market demand. The company’s configurable Catalyst platform is capable of serving the full daily mileage needs of nearly every U.S. transit route on a single charge. With unmatched durability and energy efficiency based on rigorous U.S. certification testing, Proterra products are proudly designed, engineered and manufactured in America, with offices in Silicon Valley, South Carolina, and Los Angeles. For more information, visit: http://www.proterra.com/ and follow us on Twitter @Proterra_Inc.