The board of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) signed a contract Thursday with China's BYD Motors Inc. to build 60 all-electric buses.
In the latest step toward a goal of eliminating tailpipe emissions by 2030, Metro awarded a firm fixed-price contract to the BYD for the manufacture and delivery of 60 zero-emission buses for more than 44.96 million U.S. dollars for the base contract.
The board also agreed to buy 35 zero-emission buses from New Flyer of America for the amount of over 51.21 million dollars for the base contract.
The total of 95 zero-emission buses will run on the Orange and Silver Lines in Los Angeles as an initial proving ground. These lines are respectively planned to be fully electric by 2020 and 2021.
In addition to a quieter, zero-emission ride along the Silver Line, the buses contracts would bring more manufacturing jobs to Los Angeles County, said Stella Li, Senior Vice President of the BYD.
As the world's largest manufacturer of rechargeable batteries and electric vehicles, the BYD established its factory in Lancaster, California in May 2013. With over 560 employees, the BYD factory has now become one of the major job supporting companies in Lancaster.
The BYD's 110,000-square-feet (10219 square meters) facility is undergoing an expansion to 446,000 square feet (41435 square meters) by this July, with at least 1,000 more job opportunities coming along, and its yearly production capacity is expected to increase from 350 to 1,500 vehicles.
