Driving for Change

Here in Georgia, the drive toward electric is going, well, full steam ahead. Yes, Rivian and Hyundai are the big newsmakers, but on another front, an electric-powered transformation is unfolding in the state. Schools, universities, transit systems and companies like UPS and Amazon are switching to electric-powered vehicles.

Lofty Goal: MARTA CEO and General Manager Collie Greenwood hopes to have 100% zero-emission buses by 2040: photo Stan Kaady.

Georgia State University (GSU) in Atlanta is committed to going electric to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve student and community health and save on rising fuel costs. The university recently received a U.S. Department of Transportation grant to help meet its goal of converting its Panther Express buses from diesel-powered to fully electric. Thanks to those $22.3 million in funds, GSU is set to become the first in the Southeast – and one of the first in the country – to have a fully electric bus fleet. It’s also a sign of what’s to come as Georgia transportation moves into a green future.

Getting on the Bus

The GSU funding is part of a $1.7 billion package of grants awarded to 130 governments and transit agencies across the country for 1,700 new low- and zero-emission buses. The funds, heading to 46 states and territories, come from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration under the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. GSU is the only entity in the state of Georgia to receive such a grant this round.

“We’re very excited about being innovative and first. This effort lines up really well with Georgia State’s DNA and who we are,” says Jennifer Wilson, manager of sustainability initiatives at GSU. “This is a neat thing to remove those tailpipe emissions from Atlanta and do our part to provide cleaner air for our students and the city.”

GSU President M. Brian Blake echoes Wilson’s take. “We were delighted to be the first university in Georgia and one of the first in the Southeast that will take our fleet fully electric. It was truly a team effort by so many members of the Georgia State community, and we can’t wait to bring their vision to life,” he says. “This conversion is a testament to Georgia State’s commitment to sustainability.”

Blake sees turning the fleet into an all battery-run operation as a way of enhancing the health of students, faculty and staff. “I know we’ll become a national model in this, as we’ve done in so many other areas … It is yet another way that we can improve the campus experience.”

Wilson says the money will go a long way in replacing the 22 diesel-powered buses that have aged out with 18 new electric buses and 10 charging stations, which can charge two buses at a time.

The move shines a light on GSU’s already vital role in the Atlanta economy. “We have a nearly $3 billion impact on Atlanta and the surrounding region,” says Blake.

And that surrounding region stands to benefit from the new bus fleet as well, even if they’re not riding them. In its recent 2022 State of the Air report, the American Lung Association notes that Atlanta has the fourth poorest air quality in the Southeast and ranks 35th in the country in terms of ozone pollution. Since GSU has such a huge presence downtown, its efforts to mitigate pollution and improve air quality will have a large impact on those who live and work in the area.

Team Effort: GSU President M. Brian Blake, flanked by Shambhavi Giri, an urban studies major who worked on securing the federal grant as an intern, left, and Zayvion Sheppard, GSU Student Government Association president: photo contributed.

The Panther Express buses provide last-mile service around Georgia State’s downtown Atlanta campus, with stops in the Fairlie-Poplar Historic District, the Sweet Auburn neighborhood, the university’s residential corridor and Historic Summerhill, near Georgia State’s Center Parc Stadium – in all, the routes traverse 11 miles of the downtown area from north to south.

Aside from holidays, buses drive their routes repeatedly from early in the morning to late at night Monday through Friday throughout the year, logging some 3,600 miles total a day – some buses travel more than 360 miles daily – and burning an average of 600 gallons of diesel fuel every weekday. All those miles add up, so the current diesel buses emit 541 tons of carbon dioxide a year.

The new electric buses don’t have tailpipes so are zero-emissions and can go 300 miles on a charge, which means a quieter ride and cleaner air for downtown Atlanta visitors, university members, residents and workers.

Riding an electric bus at GSU will not happen overnight, however. There’s much to do to replace the current fleet. Wilson says the school still must match 15% of the grant for the EV buses, 10% for chargers and 20% for workforce development for drivers and fleet maintenance. Training might include purchasing an EV simulator so drivers can practice handling an EV bus in a simulated environment before they go out on the road. GSU estimates EV buses will finally start rolling along Atlanta’s city streets in the summer of 2025.

That’s when the impact on cost and the environment stands to be noticed. GSU expects to save $200,000 in annual diesel fuel costs. Maintenance costs will likely go down significantly. The college is also planning for a new bus depot with charging stations for the new fleet on property Georgia State already owns in the Sweet Auburn neighborhood, which will save $120,000 in land leasing costs a year and $36,000 annually in utility costs. Wilson says every dollar saved is able to go toward the school’s core mission of educating students.

“In addition, we’ll be charging at night,” Wilson says. “Converting to battery-powered buses is significant because you’re completely eliminating tailpipe emissions.”

Electric Support

Embracing Technology: Erik Johnson, MARTA manager of engineering and bus reliability: photo Stan Kaady.

The students who use the existing bus system are on board with the transition. Shambhavi Giri, an urban studies major, worked on the grant as an intern. She’s all-in as both a grant researcher and Panther Express user who feels eliminating gas-powered vehicles can lead to a healthy, sustainable environment.

“[Securing the federal grant] was a big step in conversion. It’s going to help to reduce emissions and prove to be a significant cost saver,” she says. “I’m excited to have been a part of sending out this grant and it being accepted.”

Second-year student, criminal justice major and GSU Student Government Association President Zayvion Sheppard has been a frequent rider of the campus bus since he started at GSU. He thinks the current ones are sufficient but dated; they sometimes break down. “I’m very excited about getting electric buses. It’s a big deal,” he says. “As a student, I’m glad we’re taking the necessary steps toward being more sustainable in transporting students and staff in the future.”

The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) is also getting on board with electric buses and applauds GSU’s move to greener transit.

In May 2022, the transit authority put the first three of six electric buses purchased with support from a $2.6 million Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Low-No Grant on the road. Replacing the old diesel buses with those six electric ones reduced MARTA’s fleet emissions by some 935 short tons of greenhouse gases while also reducing harmful fine particle matter. Another six electric buses were purchased thanks to an additional $3.8 million in Congressionally Directed Spending.

Then, in August 2022, MARTA received another $19.3 million FTA grant to purchase an additional 25 electric buses and their charging infrastructure. Those buses will service multiple routes in West Atlanta, many in disadvantaged communities, and connect to rail stations on both the East/West and North/South lines.

Each electric bus gets MARTA closer to the goal set by CEO and General Manager Collie Greenwood, who once manned a bus daily as a driver in Toronto, to 100% zero-emission buses by 2040.

It’s a lofty goal – more than 550 buses provide service on 101 routes – that reflects MARTA’s commitment to increasing the city’s air health and the citizens’ quality of life, says Erik Johnson, the transit agency’s manager of engineering and bus reliability. Johnson oversees bus engineering projects and handles bus capital contracts, warranty recovery and maintenance planning.

Johnson sees GSU’s effort as positive. “Anything we can do to better the air quality in Atlanta is a benefit,” he says, adding that GSU’s leap toward electric provides another way of garnering public support for electric buses.

“As the industry matures for electric vehicles, we’ll have greater tolerance for them. The exposure to the public they’ll provide will be beneficial and will convince more people to embrace the technology,” Johnson says.

It has support at the top. Johnson says legislators have been receptive to MARTA’s efforts. “There’s a general desire by government [officials] to fund going to zero emissions,” he says. “There are people way above me who see the benefits.”

EVs Everywhere

Rising Demand: Georgia-based Blue Bird Bus Co. provides electric school buses to Broward County Public Schools in Florida: photo contributed.

While universities, schools and transit authorities are putting more electric buses on the road, that’s only part of the picture here in Georgia. In Fort Valley, a Georgia-based bus company has become a leader in electric buses – manufacturing them, that is. For nearly 100 years, Blue Bird Bus Co. has been a staple in the diets of school bus buyers throughout the country. In recent years, however, it’s also become the go-to source as school districts across the U.S. and Canada transition their bus fleets to electric, zero-emission vehicles.

As the company was still basking in the glow of its largest electric bus sale in history early last year, a 30-bus order by California’s Modesto City Schools, it welcomed a new order that dwarfed that record. Broward County Public Schools (BCPS) in Florida signed on for a record 60 electric buses. Those recent orders add onto the 1,000 electric buses Blue Bird has manufactured already and are in operation today.

That number is expected to jump, as the company just celebrated the grand opening of its 40,000-square-foot Electric Vehicle (EV) Build-up Center, which will ramp up production capacity from four to 20 EV buses a day and eventually 5,000 a year. That’s to keep up with rising demand – the U.S. EPA anticipates that by 2032, 45% of all new school buses manufactured will be electric powered.

Such bus conversions reflect a greater movement toward EVs underway across the state and the nation. Atlanta-based UPS is moving to electrify its global fleet. It currently has 13,000
alternate fuel and advanced technology vehicles, including more than 1,000 electric and
hybrid EVs on the road. It also recently ordered another 10,000 electric delivery trucks from U.K.-based startup Arrival as part of its plans to reach carbon neutrality by 2050 and reach 40% of its ground operations using alternative fuel by 2025.

Georgia Power now has Electric Transportation (ET) experts that work closely with companies to assist in transitioning their fleet to electric vehicles.

Through the company’s Make Ready Program, Georgia Power provides funding assistance to business customers with emission-free electric transport needs including passenger vehicles, transit buses, school buses, airport ground support and more.

Highly Anticipated: Kia’s West Point plant announced the 2024 all-electric EV9 will be assembled there: photo contributed.

In July, Kia announced it is investing more than $200 million and creating 200 new jobs at its West Point plant to accommodate assembly of the company’s highly anticipated all-electric 2024 EV9 three-row SUV, making it the fifth model to be assembled at Kia Georgia.

Currently, more than 40% of Kia vehicles sold in the U.S. are manufactured in West Point, and the EV9 – Kia’s first EV to be assembled in North America – will further increase the facility’s output and is the flagship vehicle for the company’s global Plan S strategy focused on sustainable mobility leadership.

Conversion to battery-powered vehicles in the Peach State can even be found at the Georgia Ports Authority. It’s investing $170 million in 55 hybrid-engine, rubber-tired gantry cranes to outfit the Port of Savannah’s Ocean Terminal during its redevelopment into an all-container facility. The hybrid machines will exclusively operate off electric battery power. The estimated fuel cost reduction is 47%, equating to 8,800 gallons of diesel per crane and a savings of more than $1.6 million per year in fuel, according to the GPA. The new cranes will reduce emissions by half compared to conventional diesel cranes, avoiding some 7,000 tons of yearly emissions across its 55-RTG fleet (127 tons per crane).

Elsewhere in Atlanta, Pivet, owned by Atlanta’s Cox Automotive, has partnered with Georgia Power and ChargePoint – a provider of EV charging networks – to deliver one of the Southeast’s largest EV charging infrastructure projects. The station, which is located between downtown Atlanta and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, includes 26 chargers to serve Georgia Power’s fleet electrification, Lyft’s Express Drive rental car program and other fleets requiring a large-scale charging solution.

Amazon has over 5,000 Rivian-made electric vans on the road. The e-commerce company, which owns a 17% stake in Rivian and is its largest shareholder, said that more than 150 million packages had been delivered by the Amazon’s U.S. electric van fleet. Amazon expects to have 100,000 electric delivery vehicles by 2030, part of a commitment to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2040.

Throughout Georgia, the momentum toward EVs continues to accelerate, and the state’s universities, manufacturers and ports are on board with the forward motion. Wilson notes that commitments like GSU’s toward a more sustainable future help influence the larger burgeoning EV industry in the state. “Georgia,” she says, “is working hard to be a leader in EV conversion.”