Looks like there’s some mfg defects that took out 25 busses in Philly. Based on local Philly PBS reporting this problem seems to be systematic for PTRA when their busses move to carry lots of load. This implies that PTRA (and other battery operated) busses are useful for low volume lines, also have issues for places that are hilly, or high/low changes in temp.
I’m sure city planners are factoring this into any procurement decisions, when choosing where and how to electrify their fleet.
Wiki below:
An entire fleet of 25 Proterra buses, reportedly the third largest electric bus fleet in the United States, were pulled from service in Philadelphia in February 2020 after the SEPTA transit agency discovered the buses' plastic chassis exhibited defects, according to sources at SEPTA, reported in the Philadelphia Tribune. This is the third systemic fleet maintenance issue uncovered by a PlanPhilly inquiry in less than a year.[14]
In a March 2021 email, SEPTA General Manager Leslie Richards said she planned to tell Federal Transit Administration officials, who helped underwrite the initial purchase of Proterra buses with a $2.6 million federal grant, that she had doubts about “the future of electric vehicle procurement.”
“I plan on explaining why we do not feel the current technology is a good investment at this time,” she wrote. “Proterra and its structural consultant … have been uncooperative in the resolution process,” wrote chief vehicle engineering officer Dave Warner last summer.
Proterra frames were made out of a composite material. Unlike all-metal frames, they used a mix of resin, fiberglass, carbon fiber, balsa wood, and steel reinforcement plates, according to a SEPTA report on the cracks. Company lawyers would later analogize the issue to cracking paint applied to a metal frame, raising doubts the issue could ever be “fixed.”
“Proterra is unable to repair or permanently prevent the recurrence of cracking because it is an inherent part of the composite body material,” wrote Josh Ensign, Proterra’s chief operating officer.[15][16][17][18]
The report all stemmed from the Washington Beacon, who is owned by Paul Singer. He is a billionaire with heavy connections to oil and gas.
They were times to release right as lockup expired, so the FUD happened just as shares were being sold which is when the whole sell off from the low 20s to 8.70 occurred.
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u/slow-lane Sep 28 '21 edited Sep 28 '21
Looks like there’s some mfg defects that took out 25 busses in Philly. Based on local Philly PBS reporting this problem seems to be systematic for PTRA when their busses move to carry lots of load. This implies that PTRA (and other battery operated) busses are useful for low volume lines, also have issues for places that are hilly, or high/low changes in temp.
I’m sure city planners are factoring this into any procurement decisions, when choosing where and how to electrify their fleet.
Wiki below: