CARTA unveils new electric buses

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - Riding an electric bus on your commute is now more of a reality.

CARTA, the Charleston Area Regional Transportation Authority, unveiled new electric buses to their fleet on Thursday.

Six buses will go into full service in the first quarter of 2020. The buses are made and manufactured in Greenville, South Carolina. They run about 100 miles on one charge.

CARTA officials said, after grant money, the buses cost about $600,000 apiece.

"We knew these were expensive buses on the front end,” CARTA Board Chair Mike Seekings said. “But they’re much more efficient and cheap to operate so long term we save money. You need to spend money on your system to make sure it’s the system that you want.”

Seekings said these buses are the future of transportation.

“With Lowcountry Rapid Transit coming and us replacing our fleet - this is just a huge opportunity for us to take these steps forward,” Seekings said. “It was expensive to do but it's the right thing to do.”

In July 2018, the CARTA board of directors passed a resolution to transition its entire fleet of fixed-route buses to zero-emission battery-electrics over the next several years.

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