The Center for Transportation and the Environment (CTE) partnered with the Fayetteville Area System of Transit (FAST) for a successful award under the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) Low or No Emission Vehicle Program (Low-No) in 2021. CTE is working with FAST to deploy five battery electric buses (BEBs). Three of the BEBs are being procured using FTA Low-No funds; FAST requested that two additional BEBs, which are being procured through Volkswagen funds, be pulled into the project scope. This project aims to replace aging diesel buses serving the City of Fayetteville. FAST’s goal is to ultimately transition to a 100% zero-emission fleet.
The BEBs will be purchased through a state contract. In the fall of 2023, the project team opted to procure two GILLIG buses and two New Flyer buses because Proterra announced bankruptcy in August 2023. CTE continues to provide project management support and facilitate weekly status calls. As of September 2024, the two New Flyer buses are scheduled for delivery in 2024 while the GILLIG buses are scheduled for delivery in the fall of 2025.
Since the charging infrastructure scope was also originally awarded to Proterra, FAST also opted to issue a Request for Qualifications to procure the charging infrastructure. FAST received four proposals and ultimately selected New Flyer as the awardee. As of September 2024, the New Flyer team is finalizing design drawings, and the charger installation is expected to take place in December 2024.
