When Kristin Kerrigan boarded a CTA bus home Wednesday afternoon, she knew something was different.
"I knew it was a new bus as soon as I walked on," said Kerrigan, 27. "It's very nice and clean. [The ride] feels a lot smoother."
Kerrigan, of Streeterville, was one of the first CTA passengers to ride one of two new electric-powered buses the CTA debuted during Wednesday evening rush hour. The agency promises the new buses--one green on the outside and the other blue instead of the typical white--will provide a cleaner, quieter ride that reduces fuel costs and vehicle emissions.
The buses, made by Canadian-based New Flyer Industries, can travel 80 to 120 miles on one five-hour lithium battery charge, according to the transit agency. The buses will power up at a charging station set up at the CTA's Kedzie Avenue bus garage in East Garfield Park.
The agency said it is the first of any major U.S. transit agency to use all electric-powered buses as part of regular service.
The two 40-foot-long buses will operate on the No. 7-Harrison, No. 120-Ogilvie/Streeterville Express, No. 121-Union/Streeterville Express, No. 124-Navy Pier, No. 125-Water Tower Express and No. 157-Streeterville/Taylor routes.
Each bus costs about $1 million, about twice as much as the diesel-engine buses that comprise most of the CTA's fleet. In 2011, the transit agency announced the buses would be purchased with a $2.2 million federal grant.
CTA spokeswoman Catherine Hosinski said the two-bus program will not exceed $2.5 million, paid for with a federal transportation grant and part of a grant for local transit agencies to improve air quality and reduce congestion.
George Cavelle, vice president of CTA's vehicle and facility maintenance, said during a Wednesday morning news conference that the CTA could save more than $25,000 annually in net fuel costs per bus compared with the Nova 6400-series buses they'll replace. The agency expects to save $300,000 over the expected 12-year bus lifespan.
The agency is "looking into" getting more electric-powered buses, Cavelle said. "We'll be able to evaluate their performances and make a determination."
The buses were tested at a New Flyer facility in Winnipeg, Manitoba, to simulate Chicago weather conditions, Cavelle said. The agency was supposed to get the buses late last year but received them a few months ago, Hosinski said.
The CTA has more than 1,800 buses in its fleet that typically travel an average of 100 miles a day. And 308 of those buses are diesel-electric hybrid buses that achieve at least 20 percent greater fuel efficiency than the other 1,500 standard diesel-engine buses, according to Cavalle.
Since 2012, the agency has added 300 buses to replace buses more than a decade old and performed maintenance on more than 1,000 buses to extend their lives.
Don Winston, a bus instructor with the CTA more than 30 years, said passengers will notice the difference in their ride with the new electric-powered buses.
"It's a nice bus. Nice, quiet, smooth," said Winston, adding that he has been driving the electric buses for a few weeks. The riders "will love it."
Rachel Covey, 22, said she didn't notice the green color of the No. 125-Water Tower Express bus when it picked her up after she left law school Wednesday afternoon. But she did notice the difference in the interior of the bus compared to older buses.
"It's nicer. Like 10 times nicer," said Covey, of Edgewater. "This is kind of cool."