Question: I haven’t seen the electric city buses in a while and I heard the city was going back to ordering the traditional diesel buses instead of the cleaner electric and or natural gas vehicles. Is this true?
Answer: Presently, the city is not pursuing the purchase of additional electric buses, the city’s transportation department said in late January. In Asheville Rides Transit’s fleet of 35 buses, five are electric.
“This decision stems from the need for the electric bus industry to mature and align more closely with Asheville Rides Transit’s specific requirements in terms of vehicle range, reliability, size, and cost-effectiveness,” city spokesperson Kim Miller said by email.
But OK. What actually happened?
The above reader question actually came before a January article from WLOS that reported the city’s 2018 purchase of five electric buses led to a multimillion-dollar loss. They report buses “sitting idle,” unable to run because of software and mechanical issues.
Following the report, more questions rolled into the ACT.: If the buses are “lemons,” why not return them? And what’s the actual story on a Fox Business article, which referred to the situation as a “cautionary tale” and leaned heavily on WLOS reporting?