Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority Executive Director Kimberly Minkel, left, and National Grid Vice President of Customer and Community Melanie Littlejohn are on board with New York State's effort to eliminate its reliance on fossil fuels.

The wheels on the bus go round and round. 

And because it’s electric, it makes nary a sound. 

That was one of the many features that guests at an April 22 media event learned about when Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority unveiled its new, $1 million electric bus.  Besides being whisper quiet, the new bus – the first of many that NFTA will be adding to its fleet as it adds more electric buses in the coming years – will greatly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The project was aided by a $3 million National Grid grant. Approved last year, the grant was made possible because of a $5.1 million allocation from New York State to support make-ready, electric vehicle charging infrastructures for electric buses in Buffalo and Albany. The grant supports an upgrade of the NFTA’s electric delivery service to 23,000 volts, which is necessary to provide the required electric capacity to charge the buses.

"In the end, it's all about air quality," said NFTA Equipment Engineer Jeffrey Sweet in an April 21 Buffalo News article. "That's behind this move to go electric."

NFTA has 330 buses in its fleet, which are powered by diesel engines, diesel-electric hybrids or compressed natural gas. Future NFTA bus purchases will include some with fuel-powered engines, but electric buses will be purchased along the way as the agency replaces buses that turn 15-years-old.

At the April 22 event, NFTA Executive Director Kimberly Minkel (top left) thanked National Grid for its grant and project support.  She then introduced National Grid Vice President of Customer and Community Melanie Littlejohn (top right) who talked about how projects such as these support NFTA’s clean energy targets, and New York state’s goal to eliminate its reliance on fossil fuels.

“At National Grid, we know that winning the fight against climate change requires emissions reductions across multiple sectors of the economy, including transportation,” Littlejohn said. “We also know that by working together, achieving a clean energy future is possible. That’s why we’ve been engaged in discussions and seeking collaborations with agencies like NFTA, our customers and municipalities about a range of initiatives to achieve a clean energy future.”

As part of National Grid’s commitment to sustainability, Littlejohn said that discussions with customers include talking about various programs that help customers convert their fleets to electric. 

“We also can provide detailed assessments as well as infrastructure incentives for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles,” she said. “These kinds of discussions are ongoing and important, because electricity will shape the future of public transportation.”

Littlejohn ended her comments by congratulating the NFTA on the addition of its first electric bus, which provided a glimpse of what clean, green public transportation will look like in Buffalo in the years to come.

“It’s more than a milestone,” she said. “It signifies that the NFTA is a true environmental leader that’s doing its part to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, mitigate climate change and provide cleaner transportation for tens of thousands of riders every single day.”

About National Grid

About National Grid: National Grid (NYSE: NGG) is an electricity, natural gas, and clean energy delivery company serving more than 20 million people through our networks in New York, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. National Grid is transforming our electricity and natural gas networks with smarter, cleaner, and more resilient energy solutions to meet the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

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