Whereas at present I do not ride a bus very often, in years past, I did. I found buses to be reliable, and most important on those frigid Chicago winter mornings, they were warm. I had the highest respect for both the buses and the bus drivers … so much so, in fact, that I wrote a book about Charles Hyde, a bus driver, and his bus, the #7. [BTW: Charles Hyde and the #7 is available on Amazon.]
Interestingly President Joe Biden had a somewhat romantic allure for buses, … electric busses, and specifically, the electric bus company, Proterra. (FYI: for those that may have noted, either plural is acceptable!). Anyway both our President and his Energy Secretary were enthralled with Proterra! In fact Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm held hundreds of thousands of shares of Proterra … reportedly 240,000 at the start of her term.
From the Washington Free Beacon:
“But that wasn’t enough to save Proterra—the electric vehicle maker whose buses routinely failed to stay on the road—from declaring bankruptcy. Proterra cited “various market and macroeconomic headwinds” in a Chapter 11 filing on Monday, 8/7/23, which came after the California-based firm cut hundreds of jobs earlier this year and restructured hundreds of millions of dollars in outstanding debt.
The declaration marks a stunning downfall for Biden’s favorite green energy company. Biden took part in a virtual tour of a Proterra facility in April 2021 to promote his $1.9 trillion infrastructure plan, which included billions to boost the electric bus industry. Biden said during the event that Proterra was “getting us in the game” and predicted that Proterra and other electric vehicle companies would “end up owning the future.” He went on to praise Proterra in a March 2022 speech, and less than one year later, in February, the Democrat appointed Proterra CEO Gareth Joyce to serve on the President’s Export Council, which provides advice on international trade.”
Proterra, Bankrupt!! How can that be? I guess Proterra was ‘getting us in the game,’ but a different game, the bankruptcy game!
Many Proterra customers had negative experiences with the company’s buses. A Michigan school district that spent big on buses with Proterra batteries and drivetrain technology, for example, said during an April presentation that the buses had “a lot of downtime and performance issues” and weren’t “fully on the road.”
“I have a number of colleagues in different states who are facing similar challenges,” a district official said during the presentation. “For the school bus market, it’s been challenging for us.”
And here, just recently in Jackson, Wyoming.
FromBlazeNews::
“All electric buses in the town of Jackson, Wyoming, are currently out of commission and not expected to return to service any time soon, forcing commuters to rely on the transit system’s more reliable diesel-powered fleet, Jackson Hole News & Guide reported last week.
Southern Teton Area Rapid Transit (START), a public transportation system provided by Jackson and Teton County, Wyoming, purchased eight electric buses from EV manufacturer Proterra, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last month. All of the company’s buses are now out of commission and in need of repairs.”
Wyoming! Michigan! Could it be any worse? Err … yes!
Earlier this month, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), purchased 25 buses from Proterra, which have not been in service for over three years. The outlet noted that with the company filing for bankruptcy, SEPTA could lose $24 million after finding some of the buses had cracked frames and other issues. One of the EV batteries reportedly burst into flames last year, it added.
As noted above, Proterra was touted by President Biden several times, and the company received a $10 million COVID relief loan from the Paycheck Protection Program in 2020. The loan was forgiven in 2022, Bloomberg reported. The company also received other federal government incentives and support for its EV manufacturing.
As for Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm’s massive investment in Proterra, do not worry as she was able to sell her shares before the company declared bankruptcy … Whew! … but Hmmm!
10/3/23