Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Less than a year after launching 10 electric buses across the Western New York region, the NFTA has pulled them all off the roads due to a manufacturer recall.
"New Flyer, which is the bus manufacturer, they issued a voluntary recall for certain electric buses. It was part of an Energy Storage System, and that was having some difficulty [with a] wiring problem," said NFTA Director of Public Affairs, Helen Tederous on Wednesday. "They issued a voluntary recall, and in an abundance of caution, we took the buses - which were out on a testing basis - out of service."
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Tederous says the withdrawal of the electric buses from roadways in Western New York does not impact any service at all. She says the NFTA has plenty of buses to cover for the loss of the electric buses.
According to Tederous, the Energy Storage System (ESS) is a large sealed box that houses battery modules, sensors and wiring, and also allows coolant to flow through the hoses to moderate battery temperatures. New Flyer says there was an issue with potential leaks, where liquid accumulation was taking place and put the electric buses in danger of shorting out electrically, leading to an increased risk of a fire.
"We were trying to avoid a problem," Tederous said. "It's interesting, when we were testing the buses and we specifically tested the buses on the coldest week of the winter, our problem or anticipated issues were that of making sure because of our cold weather, could we operate effectively? We didn't really have any issues, but this was something that was not expected. But again, in an abundance of caution, we took them out of service."
The NFTA is hoping the electric buses will only be out of service for a 6-to-8-week timetable, and Tederous feels they're on target for that, at this point.
It was nearly a full year ago when the NFTA officially unveiled the first of their 10 electric buses that would run across Western New York. There is an option for the NFTA to purchase an additional 140 buses for the region over a five-year period.
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As the NFTA was only in its testing phase with the electric buses, Tederous says the feedback from the public has been outstanding.
"People love them," she said. "I take a bus frequently and a lot of the riders on the buses say, 'When are the electric buses coming back?' People really like them. They love the look of them, and they love the ride of them. So they have really been doing very well. People really do like them, and they're a novelty. I think people enjoy the quiet nature of the electric buses. It's a very quiet ride. So they are really getting good reviews.
"Hopefully they'll be back in service between this six- and eight-week timeframe that we're talking about. So we're hoping to get them out as soon as possible."