SANTA CRUZ — With electric charging stations in construction, Metro is preparing for its first electric buses to be on the streets later this year.
Santa Cruz Metro plans to finish building the charging infrastructure for the buses next month at the Judy K. Souza Operations Facility in Santa Cruz. Metro expects to have four Proterra electric buses arriving later this year. Proterra designs and manufactures zero-emission, electric transit vehicles.
The charging structure has four chargers, each charger able to charge four buses. The project is on track to be finished by the end of February, according to Freddy Rocha, the facilities maintenance manager at Santa Cruz Metro.
The charging infrastructure, installed by Central Electric Co. of Watsonville, requires approval from Caltrans and PG&E. All permits have been approved by Caltrans for this project and conduit installation has been completed, according to Santa Cruz Metro staff. PG&E requested additions be made to the charging infrastructure, which adds $10,103 in construction costs. PG&E will also install a power pole and transformer for an additional fee.
As of Jan. 2, Metro has invested nearly $466,700 on the project from its more than $1.27 million of available funds, according to Metro staff.
The board of directors unanimously voted to approve the update. No action was taken on funding for the project. Directors Ed Bottorff, John Leopold, Cynthia Mathews, Donna Meyers and Dan Rothwell were not at the meeting.
At the meeting, Metro staff gave updates on other projects:
• Santa Cruz Metro’s free fare program for riders who are legally blind is in its third month. The program allows qualifying customers to travel anywhere Metro’s fixed-route buses travel, including the Highway 17 Express. More than 25 applicants have been approved and are using the free fare ACCESS card, which is required if a bus operator is unsure if a passenger qualifies for the free fare. The program has so far “rolled out smoothly,” according to Jayme Ackemann, Metro’s director of marketing, communications and customer service.
• Ackemann also gave an update on construction at Metro’s Pacific Station. The city of Santa Cruz has proposed a memorandum of understanding, or an agreement between the city and Metro. It will be discussed when the city and Metro meet in February. Metro has also brought on project managers including consultants from Kimley-Horn, a planning and design engineering consultant firm.
• Santa Cruz Metro’s Information Technology Director Isaac Holly gave a presentation in response to members of the public being concerned about the health and safety effects of having wireless systems on Metro buses. Holly said its wireless equipment complies with and is certified by the Federal Communications Commission.
