A battery electric bus has traveled more than 700 miles in 24 hours – setting a record for the most miles traveled in one day by an EV bus. The EV bus was built by Proterra and recorded an average fuel economy of nearly 27 miles per gallon. The company says this is almost six times that of a diesel bus and seven time that of compressed natural gas (CNG). The record was set as part of normal testing conducted on Proterra buses before they are delivered.

The bus used for this test is set to go into revenue service (i.e. be used by cities for public transportation) in the Southeastern United States within the next few months.

“This record offers definitive proof that all-electric Proterra buses combine all the durability and functionality of conventional buses, while significantly reducing total cost of ownership, fuel consumption and greenhouse emissions,” said Garrett Mikita, CEO, Proterra Inc. “We are even more proud of the fact that we demonstrated this performance using a regular production bus with the same features and performance we build into all our buses.”

The test was conducted in mid-April on a route designed to simulate both commuter and central business district routes and drive cycles. The bus operated at an average speed of 24 miles per hour with the HVAC system running and was charged periodically throughout the day, using Proterra’s proprietary fast-charging process. This technology allows a bus to fully charge in less time than it takes to charge a cell phone.

Proterra says it is the only EV bus manufacturer with buses currently in revenue service in the United States. Its buses operate in San Antonio, Texas; Reno, Nevada; Stockton and Pomona, California and Tallahassee, Florida. Deliveries scheduled for Nashville and Louisville, Tennessee among others cities.