XPost: alt.fan.rush-limbaugh
From: hotmail@hotmail.edu
You can't make this shit up!
It gets cold in the state of Vermont, just in case you didn't know.
Very cold in fact.
"Vermont spent $8 million on electric buses that don’t work in cold
weather. They must have forgotten winter"
"Out Cold: Vermont’s electric-powered buses prove unreliable for
transportation this winter
“Taxpayers were sold an $8 million ‘solution’ that can’t operate in cold
weather when the home for these buses is in New England," spokesman for
energy workers group says."
"Electric buses are proving unreliable this winter for Vermont's Green
Mountain Transit, as it needs to be over 41 degrees for the buses to
charge, but due to a battery recall the buses are a fire hazard and can't
be charged in a garage.
Spokesman for energy workers advocacy group Power the Future Larry
Behrens told The Center Square: “Taxpayers were sold an $8 million
‘solution’ that can’t operate in cold weather when the home for these
buses is in New England.”
“We’re beyond the point where this looks like incompetence and starts to
smell like fraud,” Behrens said.
“When government rushes money out the door to satisfy green mandates,
basic questions about performance, safety, and value for taxpayers are
always pushed aside,” Behrens said. “Americans deserve to know who
approved this purchase and why the red flags were ignored.”
General manager at Green Mountain Transit (GMT) Clayton Clark told The
Center Square that “the federal government provides public transit
agencies with new buses through a competitive grant application process,
and success is not a given.”
“From 2020-2024, the [Federal Transit Administration’s] priority for
grants had been low or no emission vehicles, with grant requests for
diesel buses often not awarded,” Clark said.
“This was part of a concerted effort of the previous administration to
accelerate public transits' migration to replace diesel buses,” Clark
said.
“To be competitive for a grant, GMT…saw electric battery buses as the
pathway to get the most new buses,” Clark said. “Green Mountain Transit's
priority is new buses, regardless of the type.”
Clark informed The Center Square that GMT’s “electric battery buses are
90% paid for by federal and Volkswagen settlement funds.”
GMT received five New Flyer SE40 city buses in spring 2025, these buses
being a part of “a three year grant cycle for 19 total electric battery
buses,” Clark said.
“In September 2025 we ordered 7 additional buses with a 2027 delivery
date (but will be delivered with different batteries [than the recalled
ones]), and 7 more slated for delivery in 2028,” Clark said. “This is the
primary source of new buses for the next three years, as we have only 3
diesel buses anticipated.”
“Canceling the federal grant for electric bus purchases would result in
us losing the grant funds,” Clark said. “It would not give us an
opportunity to use the funds differently.”
“We will work with FTA to see if the grant can be modified for year 3
since those buses haven't yet been ordered,” Clark said.
Clark also explained that the five electric buses were “operating well”
until November 2025 when the batteries “were recalled for fire hazard.”
The recall prompted a software update from New Flyer to “decrease the
likelihood for fire” that “included only allowing the bus to charge to
75% and to not allow charging when the battery is below 41 degrees,”
Clark explained.
“Previously we could charge in any temperature to 100%,” Clark said.
As GMT’s bus garage “does not have suitable fire mitigation equipment to
store or charge an electric bus indoors at this time,” the transportation
system is unable to use its electric buses when temperatures hit below
41.
“Since the barrier to charging under 41 degrees is simply a software
update, the manufacturer could find a technical solution that could
resolve the problem this week,” Clark said. “We are seeking a financial
remedy from New Flyer that could lead to litigation if not resolved.”
“New Flyer has indicated that replacement batteries will be installed
within 18-24 months,” Clark said.
Clark also noted GMT is working on improving its fire mitigation
equipment via a “pending federal grant.”
Policy analyst at the Institute for Energy Research William Rampe told
The Center Square that: “The failure of Green Mountain Transit's EV buses
further highlights the problems with investing in electric vehicle fleets
without considering the conditions and infrastructure they need to
operate.”
“In Vermont's case, the cold temperatures of the winter months, alongside
the risk of EV batteries catching on fire, make their new bus fleet
unusable, putting the level of service GMT provides at risk,” Rampe said.
“This failure adds costs to taxpayers, either by requiring GMT to invest
in adequate replacements or by forcing its riders to find alternate means
of transportation, which could be especially difficult for low-income
riders,” Rampe said.
Rampe told The Center Square that he and those at the Institute for
Energy Research “do not believe EVs are reliable in most situations, as
the failure of these buses shows.”
“EVs may work fine for drivers who have easy access to charging
infrastructure and don't drive long distances, but for most Americans,
limited charging infrastructure, high costs, faster rates of
depreciation, and limited range make them an inferior product compared to
gas-powered vehicles,” Rampe said.
Rampe also noted that the idea that electric buses are “sustainable” is a
failing point “because EVs' heavier weight and faster acceleration
increase particulate emissions from tire wear.”
Senator Bernie Sanders’ media relations has not yet responded to The
Center Square’s two requests for comment"
--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)
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