Q: Is CARTA going completely electric?
CARTA has 12 all-electric buses moving passengers across its city-wide routes. Joining the 14 electric shuttles that have traveled between the Tennessee Aquarium and the Chattanooga Choo Choo since the early 90s, the full-size EVs form the foundation of CARTA’s electric future.
Sam Huff, assistant director of maintenance for CARTA, said Chattanooga has purchased its last diesel bus. However, there’s no set timeline to phase out diesel and diesel-hybrid vehicles, which still make up the vast majority of the 55-bus fleet.
Technology called inductive charging, has made the switch to all-electric more promising. It works by putting two electromagnetic fields close together — one produced by the charger and one produced by the vehicle.
A charging pad installed in 2018 at the downtown station gave electric shuttles a 50% charge in seven-to-eight minutes, Huff said. Fixed-route electric buses got a quick energy boost when they went downtown, too.
Veronica Peebles, director of communications and planning for CARTA, said the charger has since been removed due to outdated technology and limited use — only the downtown shuttle and some fixed-route buses accessed it.
However, CARTA’s next step toward an electric-only fleet is to reintroduce induction technology and expand it to more bus stops. In October, the Hamilton County Commission approved CARTA to install a charging station at the stop on the corner of O’Neal Street and E. 5th Street. Serving the Mocs Express free shuttle, it’ll be the only one of its kind in Chattanooga.
Peebles said installation will begin next week, and the station will be operational by mid-December. Going forward, CARTA looks to get the most out of investments in inductive charging by placing chargers at stops serving multiple routes.
The new charger is a glimpse at how public transit will change in the coming years. But until the new executive leadership team at CARTA identifies its electric strategy going forward, “we’ll have a mixed fleet for quite some time,” Peebles said.
Have more questions? Send them to william@chattamatters.com.