The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is demanding an investigation and report into storage of decommissioned electric buses following a number of battery fire incidents.
Recent battery fire incidents in decommissioned electric buses with lithium-ion batteries in storage include one in a Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) storage yard in Philadelphia, FTA officials said. The agency is calling on SEPTA to report on how it stores decommissioned Proterra electric buses.
“This is not the first green deal initiative to backfire with serious long-term ramifications bringing in to question how safe and efficient these investments are,” FTA Administrator Marc Molinaro said. “We will investigate what steps can be taken to avoid the public safety risk caused by these vehicles and work to ensure proper safety protocols are in place.”
In a letter to Scott Sauer, SEPTA General Manager, the FTA requested documentation on the storage and handling protocols for the decommissioned electric buses and their lithium-ion battery packs, and a summary of what additional safety procedures for storage during decommissioning periods would decrease the likelihood of “crisis scenarios.”
The letter comes after a June 5 fire ignited at SEPTA’s Midvale/Roberts yard. The fire involved a decommissioned electric bus with a lithium-ion battery and ultimately destroyed numerous SEPTA buses. The incident also triggered air-quality warnings, the FTA said. The incident is subject to an ongoing investigation by the appropriate authorities, the agency said.