Kansas City Area Transportation Authority (KCATA) partnered with the Center for Transportation and the Environment (CTE) and AECOM on a successful award under the Federal Transit Administration’s 2021 Low or No Emission Vehicle Program (Low-No). KCATA will deploy three 40’ GILLIG battery electric buses (BEBs) with ChargePoint charging equipment. Two of KCATA’s BEBs will be in a rapid transit service configuration, and one will be in a local service configuration. This deployment is the next phase of KCATA’s plan to move to a fully zero- emission fleet by 2050. KCATA previously deployed two 40’ GILLIG BEBs and charging equipment in 2021.
CTE’s responsibilities on this project are to conduct bus, route, charging, and utility rate modeling in order to determine how best to incorporate the new BEBs into KCATA service, to develop bus and charger specifications, and to provide technical advisory support. CTE also performed post-deployment validation testing in order to verify that the delivered BEBs match their expected performance and will develop, track, and report key performance indicators.
CTE conducted and delivered the results of its bus and route modeling work in June of 2022. CTE found that under strenuous operating conditions, the new BEBs will be able to complete 46% of the agency’s routes with a 480-kWh battery, 70% of routes with a 588-kWh battery, and 91% of routes with a 686- kWh battery. CTE’s findings led KCATA to pursue higher-capacity batteries for its BEBs. In August 2022, CTE presented the results of its charging and utility rate modeling. CTE found that KCATA could save as much as 57% on its fuel costs and advised on how to achieve these savings.
CTE delivered bus and charger specifications and requirements to KCATA in November 2022. They will serve as documentation of KCATA’s bus and charger preferences and as a means to help ensure that the project’s manufacturing partners deliver equipment that meet KCATA’s needs.
The local service bus was delivered in August 2023 and the two Bus Rapid Transit buses arrived in April 2024.
