Three new electric-battery buses will soon join the Chapel Hill Transit fleet, after the Town Council approved the selection of a manufacturer at a recent meeting.

The zero-emission buses will be made by Gillig LLC, the bus manufacturer the town has used for most of its current fleet and who announced a new electric bus in May. Although the town entered a contract with Gillig as recently as April 2017, the project was open for bids from any manufacturers.

The purchase of the three buses is the first step in the town’s pilot program exploring the feasibility of having a full fleet of buses that produce significantly less carbon emissions and noise.

Town Manager Maurice Jones explained to the council the reasoning behind choosing the pilot program approach and how it will operate with the new electric buses.

“We didn’t want to make a major commitment without understanding the impact that [they will make] and whether the buses are working as well as we have anticipated in Chapel Hill,” said Jones. “We will be collecting data on use and maintenance, so that will give us a good baseline to make a decision about future purchases of buses and how it will fit within our climate action plan.”

Chapel Hill Transit has made efforts in the past to reduce emissions from the second largest transit system in the state. Of their 93 buses, 29 of them are diesel-electric hybrids and many more have technology built in to eliminate some pollutants from their exhaust.

Nearly half of the $2.8 million cost of the three electric buses and two charging stations will be covered by a grant from the Federal Transit Administration. Additional funds from the Renewable Energy Special Projects Committee at UNC and the Chapel Hill Transit Capital Reserve will also be used. If up to satisfaction, the town will have the option to purchase 19 additional electric buses under their agreement with Gillig.

Before that happens, however, the buses must hit the road in Chapel Hill. Jones said once they do, their performances will be monitored carefully.

“We will see how [the buses] respond, their quality, and the quality of the support of the buses well before we make a decision about the next phase of this process.”

At the meeting, town staff estimated it would take between 18 and 24 months for Gillig to build the buses and for them to be implemented within Chapel Hill Transit’s fleet.

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