FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 15, 2025
CONTACT
Kate Mason
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(615) 419-5185
Binghamton, NY — Broome County Transit (BC Transit) celebrated the arrival of its first six battery electric buses (BEBs) with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on October 14. Manufactured by GILLIG, the zero-emission buses will begin carrying riders this month, marking the start of a cleaner, quieter era of public transit in Broome County.
Supported by nearly $11 million in competitive federal grant funding and state-level investment, the new buses are part of a larger effort to bring 13 full battery-electric buses to the BC Transit fleet by 2027. These vehicles will replace older diesel models, improving air quality, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and lowering operating noise across the community. Importantly, the buses come with minimal cost to local taxpayers with nearly 95% of the expense being grant funded.
BC Transit provides more than two million rides annually, operating up to 18 hours each day. Students, faculty, and staff at Binghamton University ride BC Transit free with their University-issued ID.
To support the deployment, BC Transit has installed six Heliox/Siemens 180 kW chargers featuring a unique retractable arm system that keeps charging cables safely out of the way inside the transit depot. Charging infrastructure design and construction was led by PlugIn Stations Online, with site build management by the New York Power Authority. Additional plans call for solar panels and on-site battery storage at the Vestal transit center by 2027, adding resiliency to the grid and ensuring service continuity during power outages.
The Center for Transportation and the Environment (CTE) has partnered with BC Transit to provide project management and technical support, including inspection during the bus build phase and validation testing before the buses enter service. After deployment, CTE will continue to deliver monthly performance reports and help guide the agency toward its long-term goal of fully electrifying the fleet by 2035 — a target aligned with the Broome County Metropolitan Planning Organization’s Long-Range Plan.
“This ribbon cutting represents years of planning and collaboration,” said Steve Clermont, Managing Director of Planning and Deployment at CTE. “Broome County is demonstrating how federal, state, and local partners can work together to bring cutting-edge transportation solutions to communities of all sizes.”
The six buses, built in California this summer, arrived in Broome County in August after being driven cross-country along a network of electric vehicle charging stations. Their arrival marks the final step before entering service and delivering cleaner, quieter transit for the community.
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ABOUT CTE
The Center for Transportation and the Environment is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with a mission to improve the health of our climate and communities by bringing people together to develop and commercialize clean, efficient, and sustainable transportation technologies. CTE collaborates with federal, state, and local governments, fleets, and vehicle technology manufacturers to complete our mission. If interested in learning more about CTE, please visit cte.tv.
