NJ Transit buys 750 diesel buses for $685M. Is the future all-electric?
NJ Transit’s board has approved the purchase of what could be its last group of diesel buses.
About $685 million was greenlighted to buy 550 40-foot buses and 200 60-foot articulated buses, which are the vehicles that bend in the middle. Agency officials anticipate that this contract could be the “last diesel bus procurement contingent on the successful advancement of the bus modernization program.”
The contract includes an option to purchase another 750 40-foot transit buses and 550 articulated buses. NJ Transit President and CEO Kevin Corbett said "you get those options so you can lock in a price."
"Realistically, at this point, we don’t see using those, but you never know what happens down the line, so it’s good to have those options," Corbett said.
Aleta Dupree, a NJ Transit rider since 1980, would like to see battery electric buses hitting New Jersey streets faster, adding that she worries this procurement is “going to delay the work we do with electric buses.”
Corbett said, "It’s coming in phases, but for right now we need to make sure we have a reliable and dependable fleet to be able to meet the current as well as the rising need we’re seeing, particularly on the bus side."
The board item didn't identify the vendor for the diesel buses and included a 10% contingency, which is unusual for a purchase like this when compared with past bus purchases. In October 2021, NJ Transit's board approved $9.4 million to purchase eight zero-emission buses from New Flyer plus 5% for contingencies, according to that board item. Similarly, in January 2019, NJ Transit's board approved the $65.8 million purchase of 85 New Flyer buses plus 5% for contingencies.
Asked who the vendor is for Wednesday's purchase approval, Corbett didn't say, though the agency's procurement calendar only included one bidder, New Flyer.
"We’re in the final stages" of procurement, he said. "We’ll go to the board and let them know the final decision but ... we want to get that authorization so as soon as our procurement people conclude, we can sign the contract and get them into the production line."
More battery electric vehicles
The new buses will be a welcome addition to a system that is essentially back to pre-pandemic levels of ridership. Hundreds of bus trips were added since June on popular bus routes, for summer seasonal service and on corridors NJ Transit took over after private bus carriers terminated service on them earlier this year.
More: NJ Transit gets federal grant to modernize garage to handle electric buses. It's a start
More: Advocates push for complete NJ transit electric bus transition by 2040
NJ Transit’s board also agreed to spend $3.8 million for 19 battery electric vans that will be used on the agency’s Access Link service for seniors or those with disabilities and a new microtransit program.
The switch to a zero-emissions transit system is challenging and expensive. The agency’s 16 bus garages require modernization, expansion and new infrastructure for charging.
A pilot program to test eight battery electric buses has been underway for a year in Camden. Grants were also recently awarded to upgrade the Meadowlands and Hilton bus garages so they can be compatible with battery electric buses, and to construct a new bus garage in Union City.
By December 2032, all bus purchases at NJ Transit must be zero-emission vehicles, according to Gov. Phil Murphy’s energy master plan.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NJ Transit buys 750 diesel buses. Is the future all electric?
