Antelope Valley Transit Authority (AVTA) has temporary suspended commuter services to downtown Los Angeles, Century City, San Fernando Valley and the TRANSporter to Santa Clarita, Calif., which includes routes 785, 786, 787 and 790.
The suspension is due to battery issues encountered by the agency related to the charging of AVTA’s fleet of Motor Coach Industries (MCI) D45 CRTe LE CHARGE battery-electric commuter coaches.
“Out of the abundance of caution and desire to provide safe and dependable transportation, AVTA has placed these commuter vehicles temporarily out of service,” said AVTA Board Chairman Marvin Crist. “We hold the safety of our passengers and employees as our top priority and until we can be certain the commuter fleet is reliable and safe to operate, it will not be used in service.”
During the week of April 1, AVTA’s maintenance team reported issues with the electric MCI commuter coaches as they progressed through the charging process. Battery issues were detected and the bus charging was discontinued. The incidents were reported to MCI. Similar problems occurred in fall 2023 and were reported to the manufacturer.
AVTA says MCI has not provided an adequate explanation of the problem. MCI management reported that AVTA’s charging equipment and procedures are not the cause. Without a sufficient explanation of the cause and correction of this issue, AVTA executive management, in agreement with the AVTA Executive Board, made the decision to suspend the use of the MCI commuter coaches out of an abundance of caution.
“AVTA is the first 100 percent electric fleet in North America,” Crist said. “When you are the first to travel any road, you run into some rough spots. AVTA’s staff is well-equipped to manage the challenges of new electric technology. I am confident they will continue to safely provide the residents of the Antelope Valley with greener and technologically superior transportation services.”
AVTA executive management assures the commuters using the bus routes that service will resume as soon as possible. Solutions are currently being explored to provide replacement service for the routes using leased commuter coaches. AVTA expects to begin to restore service within two to three weeks.
The suspension does not affect AVTA’s local service or the agency’s use of any BYD zero-emission battery-electric buses.
