GoDurham adds two buses to its fleet that don’t look or ride like the others

GoDurham has become the latest bus system in the Triangle to go electric.

The first two electric buses to join GoDurham’s fleet of diesels arrived from the factory in California and were unveiled during an Earth Day ceremony Thursday morning.

A short time later, one of the buses began picking up passengers on the city’s busiest bus route, along Holloway Street.

Riders may first notice their distinctive blue and black design, featuring silhouettes of trees along with a bull and the city skyline.

GoDurham becomes the third public bus system in the Triangle to put electric buses on the road, after Raleigh-Durham International Airport and GoTriangle. GoRaleigh and Chapel Hill Transit also have electric buses on order.

So far, the bus purchases have all been made with the help of federal grants. Money from the Federal Transit Administration’s Low or No Emission Vehicle Program paid 80% of the cost of the GoDurham buses, with local taxpayers covering the rest.

Bus systems usually seek the subsidies because electric buses and the charging equipment that comes with each one cost more than standard diesels. GoDurham paid $450,000 more for each electric bus, compared to a comparable diesel.

But lower fuel and maintenance costs for electric buses are expected to make up the difference in the purchase price, plus the buses are better for the environment, according to Sean Egan, director of the city’s transportation department. While the buses will use power from the grid that may be generated by fossil fuels, they won’t emit any exhaust.

“Investment in clean, quiet, zero-emissions technology aligns with the City of Durham’s strategic goal of having a sustainable natural and built environment,” Egan said in a written statement. “This also reflects the input we have received from community engagement to reduce our carbon footprint, improve air quality and reduce noise pollution, particularly for historically disadvantaged communities served by GoDurham.”

Chapel Hill, Raleigh have electrics on order

The transition to alternative-fuel buses is still just getting started in the Triangle. The two electrics join 55 diesel buses in GoDurham’s fleet, which carried 20,000 passengers a day on average before the coronavirus pandemic.

Chapel Hill Transit will soon receive the first of 10 electric buses it has ordered, allowing it to retire some of its 93 diesel buses. GoRaleigh has five electrics on order, though the Raleigh Transit Authority has also begun replacing its 100 diesel buses with those powered by compressed natural gas or CNG, which is cheaper and burns cleaner than diesel.

GoTriangle put its first two electric buses into service in early 2020, and Duke University added two electrics early this year.

The pioneer in electric buses in the Triangle was RDU. The airport purchased four of the buses using a grant from the Federal Aviation Administration and began using them to carry passengers between the terminals and remote parking lots in May 2019.

RDU was happy enough with its electrics that the Airport Authority decided in early 2020 to buy four more, this time without government subsidies. But when COVID-19 decimated air travel, RDU closed its remote parking lots, parked its shuttle buses and canceled the order for four more electrics.