The Center for Transportation and the Environment (CTE) partnered with Salem Area Mass Transit District (Cherriots) for a successful award under the Federal Transit Administration’s Low or No Emission Vehicle Program in 2020 and 2021. CTE is working with Cherriots to deploy ten battery electric buses (BEBs) with depot and inductive on-route charging in order to transition Route 11 to 100% zero-emission buses. Cherriots intent is to provide emission-reduction benefits to the Route 11 corridor, which includes critical support services for populations at high risk due to poor air quality.
CTE assisted Cherriots with the procurement of ten 40’ battery electric transit buses from GILLIG. In January 2021, CTE completed a requirements analysis involving data collection, block feasibility analyses, charge modeling, and rate modeling to inform technical specifications, operational planning, and preliminary fuel cost estimates for ten GILLIG buses that will operate from the Del Webb Transit Depot Facility and use inductive charging at Keizer Transit Center. In February 2022, CTE completed a second round of requirements analysis for the second five GILLIG buses to inform battery configuration, route planning, and charger setup for the Keizer Transit Center as delay mitigation planning. Cherriots received the ten GILLIG BEBs in June 2023, and CTE completed performance validation in Quarter 1 of 2024. Due to construction delays at the Del Webb Transit Facility and Keizer Transit Center, revenue service is anticipated in Quarter 3 of 2024. Charging infrastructure in both locations was completed in May 2024. Post- deployment, CTE will track vehicle performance, furnishing monthly key performance indicator reports to Cherriots. This is anticipated to begin in Q3 2024.
