Proterra EcoRide
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| Proterra EcoRide BE35 | |
|---|---|
![](#/media/File:Foothill_Transit_Proterra_EcoRide_BE35_"Ecoliner".jpg){kind=spacer} EcoRide BE35 in service with Foothill Transit | |
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Proterra |
| Production | 2010–2014 |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | Transit bus |
| Body style | Monocoque stressed skin |
| Layout | Rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive |
| Powertrain | |
| Electric motor | UQM Technologies PP220[1][2] |
| Transmission |
|
| Dimensions | |
| Wheelbase | 236 to 237 in (5.99 to 6.02 m)[1][2] |
| Length | 35 ft 8+1⁄2 in (10.9 m)[1][2] |
| Width | 101.4 to 103 in (2.58 to 2.62 m)[1][2] |
| Height | 132 to 134 in (3.35 to 3.40 m)[1][2] |
| Curb weight | 27,680 to 28,180 lb (12,600 to 12,800 kg)[1][2] |
| Chronology | |
| Successor | Proterra Catalyst |
The Proterra EcoRide BE35 is a 35 foot (11 m) fast-charge battery electric low-floor transit bus manufactured by Proterra from 2010 to 2014. The EcoRide seats 38 (including the driver) with a total passenger capacity of 60 in its composite body. Foothill Transit was the first transit agency to operate the buses in revenue service, starting in September 2010.[3][4]
The BE35's electric traction motor draws from lithium-titanate batteries supplied by Altairnano that can be recharged in 5–10 minutes while stopped at a bus stop via overhead terminals connected to a charging station, without driver involvement.[5] The quick charging during a brief layover typically enables a further 26 miles (42 km) of operation.[6][7]
Deployment
CEO Dale Hill and VP Phil Sweesy of Mobile Energy Solutions, LLC (MES) in Golden, Colorado had previously designed, engineered, and manufactured the 36 CNG-fueled TransTeq EcoMark I hybrid buses for the 16th Street Mall in Denver, Colorado.[8][9][10][11] In 2006, MES announced it was designing a battery-electric bus codenamed "Origin One", recharged by onboard hydrogen fuel cells; the company announced it had already won a contract for two buses from the Greater New Haven Transit District, the transit agency serving New Haven, Connecticut.[12] This was followed by a 2007 contract for two more fuel cell buses for Burbank, California; by this time the key characteristics were announced: a 35-foot (11 m) composite body provided by Martin Marietta, lithium-titanate batteries, and plug-in charging in addition to onboard charging through the use of a range-extending auxiliary power unit (APU) consisting of two 16 kW fuel cells from Hydrogenics.[13]
Developmental funding was provided by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), who had awarded a grant under the National Fuel Cell Bus Program to a team led by the Center for Transportation and the Environment (CTE); CTE had selected MES to develop the prototype bus.[14] MES was also a partner in the FTA's Electric Drive Strategic Plan program.[15] MES acquired an old school bus to serve as a mobile development laboratory (MDL) for drivetrain development, including the battery, traction motor, and control system. The MDL was damaged after one battery cell leaked electrolyte, short-circuited, and caught on fire, leading MES to redesign its battery management system and add a protective enclosure for the battery modules in the finished prototype.[16]: 15
MES changed its name to Proterra in June 2008[17] and exhibited a prototype of the HFC35 transit bus that October at the American Public Transit Association Expo in San Diego.[18]: 34 As shown with the fuel cell APU, Proterra claimed the HFC35 had a range of 250 miles (400 km) before needing to be refueled or recharged.[15] Alternatively, the HFC35 could be optioned with diesel, gasoline, or natural gas APUs.[19]
In 2009, Proterra demonstrated a variant of the HFC35 that omitted the APU altogether,[20] which Proterra named the EcoRide BE35.[21] The BE35 stopped in four California cities during its weeklong tour: San Jose, Los Angeles, Sacramento, and San Francisco.[22][23]
The HFC35 prototype exhibited at APTA '08 in San Diego[24] was later demonstrated in Washington, D.C. (Nov 2008)[5] and a nationwide tour in regular service was scheduled for 2009, starting in Columbia, South Carolina[15] as a football stadium shuttle for the University of South Carolina (with maintenance, refueling, and charging at Central Midlands Regional Transit Authority), with Capital Metro in Austin, Texas,[25] and at the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in Vancouver, British Columbia.[16]: 4, 18 A second HFC35 was ordered by the City of Burbank, and a third was ordered by the United States Department of Defense (DoD) for use in Washington state.[16]: 13 Burbank's HFC35 entered service in May 2010.[26] The DoD HFC35 was delivered to Joint Base Lewis–McChord in Tacoma, Washington,[27] where it was powered by hydrogen reformed from mewthane produced during wastewater treatment.[28][29]
The first production BE35 was delivered to Foothill Transit in September 2010, operating as the "EcoLiner" on line 291 between Pomona and La Verne.[4] Other agencies that purchased BE35 buses and charging equipment included the Nashville Metropolitan Transit Authority,[30] Worcester Regional Transit Authority,[31] San Joaquin Regional Transit District (Stockton),[32] VIA Metropolitan Transit (San Antonio),[33][34] StarMetro (Tallahassee),[35][36] Regional Transportation Commission of Washoe County (Reno), and Clemson Area Transit (Seneca, South Carolina);[37] most purchases were funded by more than $25 million in grants from the FTA's Transit Investments for Greenhouse Gas and Energy Reduction (TIGGER) program.[38]
Proterra introduced the 40-foot (12 m) Catalyst in 2014, featuring a longer range and new fast-charging system.[39]
