April 22, 2025
For Earth Week 2025, the Bay Area Transportation Authority (BATA) is highlighting its role as a regional leader in green energy and sustainability. BATA continues to focus on providing essential transportation while lowering the agency’s environmental footprint. In April BATA added two more electric vans to its vehicle fleet and has started the installation of approximately 600 solar panels to the roof of its new operations headquarters located on the corner of Hammond and LaFranier Roads in Traverse City.
Electric Vans
With the addition of two new Ford e-Transit vans BATA’s electric vehicle fleet now consists of six vehicles. The new vans are equipped with mobility lifts for transporting wheelchairs. BATA has been running electric vans for more than a year and has been seeing solid performance averaging around 120 miles per charge depending on the weather. Other features of the electric vans include:
Seating for up to 10 passengers with ADA accessible versions being able to accommodate up two wheelchairs each
Smooth and quiet ride
Regenerative braking system
Onboard telematics to track battery life in real-time
According to Ford, each Ford e-Transit van has a lifetime savings of 55 metric tons of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions compared to an internal combustion engine Ford Transit. That’s equivalent to 6,189 gallons of gasoline saved.
EV Chargers
EV chargers are in the process of being procured for BATA’s new operations headquarters and fast EV chargers are also being installed at BATA’s Hall Street Transfer Station for the purpose of charging buses mid route. BATA also received a $5,000 grant from the Grand Traverse Regional Community Foundation in 2024 to install EV chargers at its new LaFranier Park-n-Ride transfer point for public use and promote the free 40+ space Park-n-Ride lot which should be installed later this summer.
Solar Power
In the Fall of 2024 (BATA) received a $795,673 grant from the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) to install more than 600 solar panels on the roof of BATA’s new Operations Headquarters. Keen Energy Inc. was selected as the solar vendor and installation has started and will be completed by the end of May or early June. Benefits of the solar project include:
$60,000 in annual estimated recurring electrical utility savings
320 kw of electricity will be generated for use by BATA with any excess returning to the grid
260 tons of estimated carbon dioxide and 1 ton of sulfur dioxide removed from Michigan’s air, land and water, which is equivalent to removing 64 vehicles from roadways
Other green features of BATA’s new HQ and operations include:
Windows – plenty of low and high windows throughout office areas to allow for natural sunlight / improves employee performance while also reducing the need to turn lights on and off
LED lighting throughout with occupancy sensors that automatically turn off lights when no one is in a room
High speed overhead doors in the bus garage – minimizing heat loss during cold temperatures
Insulated precast concrete wall panels as part of the bus storage garage improving HVAC performance
On site bus wash bay that reclaims water for reuse limiting water consumption
BATA continues to operate 65% of its fleet with low or no emission vehicles by utilizing 46 propane powered vehicles along with the fleet of 6 EV vans
There are 21 solar powered shelters throughout BATA’s network
Environmental Benefits of Public Transit
According to the 2021 UCLA report on the 5 Environmental Benefits of Sustainable Transportation, public transit makes a positive impact on the environment and the climate by helping reduce pollution, create healthier communities and reducing the number of cars on the road. Learn more about the benefits of public transit and how it directly makes a positive impact on the environment by saving fuel, lowering an individual’s carbon footprint and by reducing vehicle congestion on area roadways by visiting this page.
