RTC unveils electric buses for Reno region

At first glance, it's hard to tell the difference between the Regional Transit Commission's normal buses and new electric-battery buses.

Sure, there's the flamboyant paint jobs with streaks of lightning and chemical formulas splattering the sides. But the differences, though subtle, are hard to ignore.

These buses are much quieter than the others in the fleet, and there's no unsightly belches of black smoke from the back of any of these buses. And they're cheaper, according to the RTC — not paying for gasoline could save up to a half million dollars over the life of the bus.

That's the reason why government agencies and officials from the RTC all the way to Senator Harry Reid were in attendance Monday at the electric bus unveiling at the RTC Fourth Street Station. A bevy of speakers, including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., were on hand to praise not only the cooperation between agencies that lead to the $4.6 million grant, but for the promise of reducing pollution and improving public transport performance.

"This is just the beginning," Reid said.

Adding the four electric buses makes the RTC the first and only public transportation authority in Nevada using purely electric buses as part of their 71-bus fleet. RTC also has 18 hybrid diesel-electric buses in its fleet, with most of the other buses running off of biodiesel fuel.

The buses, which emit zero emissions, can fully charge within 10 minutes at a special charging station at the downtown transit center, while passengers unload or reload onto the bus. The buses are currently in use, and run on the Sierra Spirit line.

The buses were developed by Proterra Inc., a South Carolina-based company whose buses are also in use in Stockton and Pomona, Calif., RTC spokesman Michael Moreno said.

Proterra founder Dale Hill said people usually have an easier time adapting to electric buses because of past transportation systems that used electricity, such as trolleys.

"When we completed federal testing over two years ago, it was like a light bulb went off around the United States. People said, 'We've been riding electric trolleybuses for a hundred years, and this is just the trolley bus without the cable system,'" Hill said.

Paul Thompson, the Nevada Governor's Department of Energy Director, complimented RTC on moving away from dependence on oil.

"These buses are replacing imported fuel today with our domestic electrical production," he said. "There's nothing better."

Reid spoke for several minutes about the benefits of eliminated noise and environmental pollution.

"It's not going to be long before garbage trucks are the same," Reid said. "This is going to happen a lot sooner than you think."