Photo: SAUL LOEB / AFP / Getty Images
LOS ANGELES (CNS) - The Los Angeles City Council Tuesday moved forward with a contract with BP Pulse Fleet North America to install electrical vehicle chargers at a downtown vehicle yard as part of the city's goal to achieve a 100% zero-emission bus fleet by 2030 or earlier.
Without discussion, the council voted 12-0 in favor of the contract with council members Eunisses Hernandez, Tim McOsker and Paul Krekorian absent during the vote. Once the contract is finalized, BP Pulse Fleet North America will install 22 electric 150kW bus chargers and provide five years of software and charger maintenance at the Downtown yard, located at 454 E. Commercial Street.
A report from the city administrative officer called for approval of the more than $12 million contract for a term of seven years.
In 2017, the council directed the Department of Transportation to take actions to ensure a transition to a 100% zero-emission transit bus fleet, and in 2020 then-Mayor Eric Garcetti called for the department to meet that goal in time for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
LADOT purchased 130 electric buses with chargers in 2019. This year, the department will receive partial delivery of the 130 electric buses, which are expected to serve the DASH and Commuter Express routes. The new electric chargers will ensure the use of the incoming electric buses.
According to the report, funding for the contract will come from the Proposition A Local Transit Assistance Fund Facility Upgrades for Electrification and the Caltrans State of Good Repair Program funds. In the subsequent years, the city will have to appropriate funding through its annual budget process, which will be subject to the mayor and council's approval.