AVTA’S BYD Electric Bus Goes the Distance

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“The Antelope Valley Transit Authority’s (AVTA) new BYD electric bus is performing better than advertised! AVTA and BYD operators put the electric bus to the test this weekend during a 24-hour marathon ride that looped from Rosamond to Palmdale a total of 18 times.
The BYD electric bus managed to travel an astounding 746 miles over the 24-hour period, operating in three shifts. Each shift logged between 240 and 256 miles before recharging the battery.

“This is tremendous news and it proves the BYD electric bus can be a transit work horse like its diesel counterpart,” stated Board Chair Norm Hickling. “We are looking forward to putting our electric buses into service on local transit routes to further evaluate their true performance under all weather and road conditions.”
This weekend’s 24-hour marathon began on Saturday at 1:04 in the afternoon starting from the BYD factory in Lancaster. AVTA’s electric bus was loaded with 5,250 lbs. of sand bags to simulate the weight of 35 passengers. The bus traveled a total of 240 miles before its first battery charge, which is nearly 100 miles more than BYD advertises and 30 miles more than is needed to service an average transit route in the AntelopeValley. The air conditioning system ran during most of the test except during the early morning hours when it was cold outside.” (via Electric Cars Report)