Mountain Line to adopt BetterFleet electric bus management platform
Mountain Line has selected BetterFleet to provide it with a charge management and fleet operations platform to aid in its transition to a fully electric bus fleet. The software will support daily service and optimize energy use of the agency’s fleet as it continues to grow.
Since introducing its first battery-electric buses in 2019, the agency has built out its operations to be a regional fleet that is already nearly 90% electric. With the adoption of this software, the agency has made a commitment that all future bus procurements will be zero-emission as it advances toward a fully electric fleet by 2035. The agency says that for fleets operating at this level of electrification and in a mountainous cold-weather environment, reliability and operational optimization are mission critical, with vehicle availability, charging coordination and system resilience as important as the infrastructure itself.
BetterFleet notes that its platform was selected to support the operational realities of electric bus service. The company says the system is designed to ensure vehicles are ready for dispatch each day, minimize energy costs, protect electrical infrastructure and extend battery life through intelligent, transit-specific charging strategies.
“Mountain Line is a progressive transit agency that continues to set a strong example for how zero-emission fleets can be deployed thoughtfully and effectively,” said BetterFleet CEO Daniel Hilson. “We’re honored to work with a team that shows electrification can be done well even in places with extreme weather conditions.”
BetterFleet says that its platform dynamically schedules charging across vehicles and chargers based on actual plug-in times, pull-out schedules and required energy, ensuring all buses are charged and ready for service when they’re needed. With sequential and simultaneous charging capabilities, built-in time-of-use scheduling automatically shifts charging to off-peak periods while real-time prioritization ensures operational needs are met.
Through features like automated load management that continuously monitors site demand and grid capacity and adjust charging power in real time to stay within defined limits without operator intervention, the company notes that Mountain Line will be able to expand its infrastructure with new chargers and easily add and monitor them with the BetterFleet charge management system without overextending capacity.
BetterFleet also notes that the deployment includes an on-site controller, enabling local, real-time control of charging and load management. The company says this architecture provides added resilience, allowing charging operations to continue even during network interruptions and ensuring service reliability for a highly electrified fleet.
Looking ahead, BetterFleet says the platform is designed to integrate with future energy systems as they come online. Mountain Line’s plans include a microgrid with distributed energy resources such as geothermal, solar generation and battery storage—all options BetterFleet’s open architecture allows charging operations to be coordinated with over time.