Tampa International Airport (TPA) has added its first four electric buses to its employee shuttle fleet.
The new buses will replace existing diesel buses that transport employees from the North Employee Parking Lot off Hillsborough Avenue to the Main Terminal. This service operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week and each bus travels about 36,000 miles a year.
The four new vehicles are K9M low-floor electric buses built by BYD. They are powered solely by electricity in order to advance the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority’s (HCAA) ongoing sustainability efforts.
TPA Sustainability and Resilience Program Director Eric Caplan said:One of HCAA’s primary sustainability goals is focused on ‘electrifying’ our campuses, and reducing carbon emissions over this next decade. The addition of electric buses to our fleet will help us do just that. Not only will these buses assist us in achieving our sustainability goals, but the diversification of our transportation fleet will help make TPA’s campus more resilient to conditions that would affect our operational abilities, as well.
Each 40-foot vehicle can travel up to 156 miles on a single charge, and their batteries can be fully replenished in approximately four hours.
They have seating for up to 37 passengers and are equipped with USB chargers and luggage racks.
These are the first electric buses to be owned and operated by TPA. The purchase was supported by a federal 100% Zero Emission Vehicle grant worth 4.65 million USD for the buses and their charging infrastructure.
HCAA is now seeking more grant funding to help update the remainder of the employee bus fleet, which previously consisted of 7 diesel buses.
