A West Covina-based transit agency became the first public bus company in the United States to purchase two electric-powered double-decker buses, the agency announced Thursday.

Foothill Transit is spending about $1.6 million each for the electric version of a double-deck bus that is completely zero-emissions, adding to its 30 electric buses already carrying passengers daily, said Felicia Friesema, Foothill Transit spokesperson.

The two double-decker buses will replace two, 12-year-old compressed natural gas commuter express buses, reducing pollutants that contribute to smog and lowering the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere that contributes to global climate change.

More passengers

Foothill plans on using the double-decker buses on its commuter express routes in order to increase capacity and maneuverability. The Enviro500EV is 13-and-a-half-feet tall and carries 80 passengers.

A regular bus carries 38 passengers, Friesema said, and a 60-foot “articulated bus,” which looks like two buses joined together by an accordion-like, flexible connector, carries a maximum of 58 passengers — the largest in its fleet today. Passengers have complained of bumpy rides and drivers find them hard to park.

“So these nearly double the trip capacity. We can carry more people for the same footprint,” Friesema said during an interview Thursday. A double-decker bus can also find a place along the curb much easier than the articulated bus, while carrying more passengers.

Express routes

Though it has not yet decided, the agency may use one on Line 699, which carries passengers between Montclair in San Bernardino County, the Los Angeles County Fairplex in Pomona and downtown Los Angeles, making only three stops.

The second bus could be used on its other popular commuter express, the Silver Streak, which travels along the 10 Freeway making limited stops on its way to downtown Los Angeles from Montclair and West Covina.

“Deploying the Enviro500EV will be transformative for Los Angeles and for the United States,” said Doran Barnes, executive director of Foothill Transit in a prepared statement. “No other transit agency in the country utilizes this technology on commuter express routes. Adding seats without increasing traffic congestion or local greenhouse gas emissions is the ultimate benefit for one of the nation’s most heavily traveled corridors.”

Battery power

The buses can go 157 miles on a single charge, using 3.3 kilowatt hours per mile of battery power. The one-way distance from Montclair to Los Angeles is about 40 miles, Friesema said.

The other electric buses on the road use 2.8 kilowatt hours per mile.

They can re-charge at an overhead electric charging port at the Pomona Transit center and at an en-route charging station adjacent to the Gold Line train station in Azusa. Foothill may build a third charging station in downtown Los Angeles to accommodate the new electric buses, Friesema said.

The double-decker e-buses are being built by Alexander Dennis Inc., an Indiana-based company that’s now the world’s largest double-deck bus manufacturer.

Proterra will supply the battery and electric drive train technology. A Greenville, S.C. company, Proterra recently opened a full-scale manufacturing plant in City of Industry, where it produces electric buses for Foothill Transit and out-of-state bus agencies.

Currently, Foothill Transit’s electric buses have logged 1.5 million miles total. Electric buses reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 90 percent as compared to diesel buses.

“It seems fitting that Foothill Transit, our first battery electric bus customer, will pioneer this next phase of the sustainable transit revolution,” said Ryan Popple, CEO of Proterra in a prepared statement. “We are pleased to extend our battery technology to world class, heavy-duty manufacturers like Alexander Dennis in their pursuit to go electric.”

Foothill received a $1.4 million grant applied toward the bus purchases from the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Express Lanes Toll Revenue Capital Grant fund. The difference will be paid out of Foothill’s local budget.

LA Metro does not run double-decker buses. Its first electric bus is set to run in the San Fernando Valley sometime in 2020, said Rick Jager, Metro spokesman in an email.

Reappearance

In the 1970s and 1980s, the Southern California Rapid Transit District ran double-decker diesel-powered buses. They were phased out after experiencing too many brushes with low-hanging trees and maintenance problems, according to news reports.

Friesema said a prototype of the new buses was tested in 2016 and did not have trouble with clearing bridges and trees branches. She said passenger feedback was positive.