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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowOfficials with Indianapolis' public bus service say the city now boasts one of the nation's largest electric mass-transit fleets.
IndyGo announced Tuesday that in December it received the last of 21 fully electric buses. Those buses, equipped with lithium-ion batteries, can travel up to 130 miles on a single charge.
A 1-megawatt solar array also went online last month atop IndyGo's operations building.
IndyGo President and CEO Mike Terry said the array generates enough electricity to offset the charging of 13 electric buses, lowering the fleet's operating costs while saving energy and resources.
IndyGo also is planning an electric rapid-bus project. The 35-mile Red Line would eventually link four cities in three central Indiana counties if federal funding can be obtained.
The first phase of the Red Line—in Marion County, from Broad Ripple to the University of Indianapolis—is estimated to cost $96.3 million to construct and $6 million annually to operate. It would be part of a $1.2 billion bus rapid-transit system known as Indy Connect.
The solar array, electric buses and Red Line studies were funded by federal grants.
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