CATS Board Approves the Purchase of Three Electric Buses to Enhance Fleet

BATON ROUGE, La. – The CATS Board of Commissioners on Tuesday approved the purchase of three electric Proterra buses, which will be used to enhanced planned Bus Rapid Transit service launching in 2018.

The three full-sized electric buses will cost  approximately $2.8 million, the majority of which is funded through three federal transit grants.

These electric buses will be the first for CATS, which is in the planning phases for express service along its popular Plank Road and Florida Boulevard lines. These lines, called Bus Rapid Transit lines, will launch in 2018 and will offer quicker service because they will have fewer stops. The new Bus Rapid Transit lines also will have enhanced stops with features like areas for Uber and Lyft drivers and a place for Bike Share bikes.

With the addition of the three new Proterra electric buses, CATS will have purchased 27 new buses in less than two years, dramatically reducing the age of its fleet. The three electric buses will allow CATS to field test the use of electric buses in Baton Rouge and study how these buses could be used on other CATS routes.

The new buses should arrive in the Spring of 2018.

###