At their pre-Thanksgiving meeting on November 21, Princeton Council approved the purchase of two new electric vehicles. In particular, these are electric buses, to provide service on the town’s free municipal jitney route. The purchase will allow the service to transition from diesel buses to a clean, all-electric alternative. Local taxpayers will also pay an incredibly low price for these buses, because the town secured an enormous grant contribution from the state to offset their cost.

The buses are based on a standard Ford E-450, which has been converted to run on an electric motor. Each bus seats up to 12 passengers and is fitted with a Braun wheelchair lift for accessibility. The maximum range on a full charge is 115 miles.

Although the final cost of the two new buses is $480,000, the town of Princeton will only pay a total of $60,000. That’s because the town was able to benefit from a grant through New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) program, which will provide $177,000 per bus. The new buses will therefore cost less to local taxpayers than a regular bus, and will have the advantage of running without any tailpipe fumes. Council members thanked staff at ‘Sustainable Princeton‘, Christine Symington and Jenny Ludmer, for setting up the deal.

Princeton University also recently converted its shuttle bus fleet to all-electric vehicles. Now the town is in on the electric action too!