Tag: EV Bus

$96 Million to Nowhere: South Florida’s Stranded Electric Bus Fleet

The bankruptcy directly contributed to the issues in Miami-Dade (69 buses for $61.8 million) and Broward (31 buses) fleets. Parts became scarce or unavailable, warranties and service support were disrupted, and the new owner (Phoenix) faced questions about its ability to fulfill long-term obligations.

Miami-Dade and Broward counties bought roughly 100 Proterra electric buses with about $96 million in public funds (Miami-Dade: 69 buses for $61.8 million; Broward: 31 buses at ~$1.1 million each).

Most are now sidelined—over a year after being pulled from routes due to repeated breakdowns.

Dozens sit idle at Homestead Air Reserve Base; others are stored in a remote section of a Broward County landfill.

Proterra was once hailed as a leader in electric bus tech.

Miami-Dade’s mayor even unveiled the fleet in 2023 as “the future of public transit.”

But the buses started failing frequently—breaking down mid-route, requiring tows, and suffering battery and mechanical issues.

Broward reported failures roughly every 600 miles, far worse than their diesel fleet.

Parts became scarce or unavailable after Proterra’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy (its assets were later sold, but support and warranties have not recovered).

Proterra Inc., a prominent U.S. manufacturer of electric transit buses, battery systems (Proterra Powered), and charging infrastructure (Proterra Energy), filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on August 7, 2023, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (Case No. 23-11120).

The company listed assets and liabilities each in the range of $500 million to $1 billion.

At the time of filing, Proterra had delivered over 1,300 electric buses nationwide, including fleets in Miami-Dade and Broward counties in South Florida. CEO Gareth Joyce cited “market and macroeconomic headwinds” that hindered efficient scaling, including supply chain disruptions, inflation, high manufacturing costs, and challenges in simultaneously growing three distinct business lines.

High costs and low margins in bus manufacturing: Electric bus production required significant working capital. Contracts signed 12–18 months earlier became unprofitable due to inflation and rising material/labor costs. The company often lost money on deliveries—e.g., materials alone cost more than revenue in some quarters. Buses were highly customized per transit agency, limiting automation and economies of scale.

Rapid diversification and cash burn: Proterra expanded into battery systems for other EVs and charging solutions while trying to scale bus production. These new lines did not generate enough cash flow to offset losses in the core transit business. A Q1 2023 loss reached $250 million (5x the prior year), prompting layoffs of ~300 staff earlier that year.

Tight capital markets and failed sales attempts: Proterra tried (via bankers like Moelis) to sell the transit bus division or raise new investment, but buyers shied away from the money-losing bus operations. The single corporate structure and debt covenants complicated deals. It had gone public via SPAC in 2021 at a ~$1.6 billion valuation but saw its market value collapse.

Broader EV sector pressures: Supply chain issues, slowing demand in some segments, and competition (including from lower-cost Chinese manufacturers) exacerbated problems. Proterra used nickel-based batteries, which were more expensive than lithium alternatives used by some rivals.

The company continued operations during bankruptcy to fulfill orders and preserve value, while seeking to sell or reorganize business lines separately.

Proterra pursued a multi-track sale process:

Proterra Powered (battery, electric drivetrain, and vehicle electrification business): Sold to Volvo Group (via Volvo Battery Solutions) for ~$210 million plus assumption of certain liabilities. The deal closed in early 2024 after court approval. Assets included a California development center and South Carolina assembly plant.

Proterra Transit (electric bus manufacturing and related assets): Sold to Phoenix Motor Inc. (a smaller EV maker focused on medium-duty trucks and school buses) for ~$10 million plus liabilities. Phoenix completed the acquisition in January 2024. This is the successor entity most relevant to existing Proterra bus fleets.

Proterra Energy (charging infrastructure and software): Retained by the reorganized company under a Chapter 11 plan.

The company emerged from bankruptcy in March 2024 as a reorganized entity (later renamed Prodigy Investments Holdings, Inc., f/k/a Proterra Inc.).

It deleveraged by repaying/equitizing ~$200 million in funded debt, exited with substantial cash and no funded debt, and distributed equity primarily to second-lien noteholders.

Unsecured creditors received meaningful (but partial) recovery. Shareholder objections were overruled.

The bankruptcy directly contributed to the issues in Miami-Dade (69 buses for $61.8 million) and Broward (31 buses) fleets.

Parts became scarce or unavailable, warranties and service support were disrupted, and the new owner (Phoenix) faced questions about its ability to fulfill long-term obligations.

Broward reported buses failing roughly every 600 miles—far more frequently than diesel equivalents. Many buses were pulled from service, leading to the idle/storage situation highlighted in 2026 local reporting.

Transit agencies now face repair challenges, potential federal grant clawbacks (buses must meet service milestones), and decisions on retrofits or disposal.

This case illustrates risks for subsidized EV deployments: heavy reliance on a single vendor, long-term service dependencies, and the fragility of scaling capital-intensive tech amid cost pressures.

Proterra’s battery tech lives on under Volvo, while the bus line continues (in limited form) under Phoenix, but legacy customers like South Florida agencies have borne significant operational and financial fallout.

Proterra developed modular lithium-ion battery systems (branded as TerraVolt early on, later Onyx series under Proterra Powered) primarily for heavy-duty applications like electric transit buses, trucks, and other commercial vehicles.

The technology emphasized high energy density, safety features, active thermal management, and scalability for different vehicle platforms.

After Proterra’s 2023 Chapter 11 filing, the battery business (Proterra Powered) was acquired by Volvo Group in early 2024 for ~$210 million. This included the California development center and South Carolina assembly plant.

Volvo continued operating it as a going concern, supplying select customers and integrating the tech into their electrification roadmap. The bus manufacturing side went to Phoenix Motor Inc., but battery support for legacy fleets (like South Florida’s) faced disruptions during the transition.

In Miami-Dade and Broward deployments, Proterra buses (often with high-capacity NMC packs) experienced notable reliability challenges, including frequent breakdowns (reported ~every 600 miles in Broward vs. ~4,500 for diesels), parts shortages post-bankruptcy, and operational issues.

Factors like Florida’s heat accelerating degradation, high AC loads reducing effective range, and heavy-duty cycling likely contributed—common pain points for early high-nickel NMC packs in transit service.

While NMC offers strong energy density for range, it can be more sensitive to temperature extremes and fast charging compared to LFP alternatives.

These issues compounded the broader subsidized rollout problems, leading to many buses being sidelined.

Proterra’s approach delivered competitive energy density for its era in the U.S. market, enabling longer-range claims than many peers, but highlighted the gap between lab/spec-sheet performance and sustained real-world heavy-duty transit use under varying climates and maintenance realities.

The technology lives on via Volvo, with ongoing refinements in commercial EV battery platforms.

The purchases were heavily subsidized by federal, state, and local grants tied to zero-emission mandates.

Transit agencies bought the buses to chase the money and hit political targets rather than strictly on proven lifecycle cost or reliability.

When the tech under-delivers and the vendor fails, riders get fewer buses on the road, and taxpayers foot the bill for idle assets (plus any diesel backups needed to fill gaps).

Either way, South Florida’s experience is a stark, visible reminder: $96 million bought a fleet that mostly isn’t moving anyone.

Local officials are now scrambling for repairs, retrofits, grant forgiveness, or disposal—while the buses sit as expensive monuments to good intentions meeting hard engineering limits.

Fiery deaths for electric buses and autos continue

A little over three years ago, the Felicity Ace was carrying 3,965 vehicles when a fire broke out in one of the electric vehicles on board the transport ship. The fire quickly spread out of control, and the entire crew was evacuated before the ship sank into waters 10,000 feet deep. The vessel held 189 Bentleys, 1,110 Porsches, and the very last Lamborghini Aventadors; estimated losses for Japan’s Mitsui OSK Lines totaled at least $500 million.

From CFACT

By Duggan Flanakin

A little over three years ago, the Felicity Ace was carrying 3,965 vehicles when a fire broke out in one of the electric vehicles on board the transport ship. The fire quickly spread out of control, and the entire crew was evacuated before the ship sank into waters 10,000 feet deep. The vessel held 189 Bentleys, 1,110 Porsches, and the very last Lamborghini Aventadors; estimated losses for Japan’s Mitsui OSK Lines totaled at least $500 million.

On June 3, it was “déjà vu all over again,” when the Morning Midas, which had been carrying nearly 3,000 vehicles – including 78 fully electric and 680 hybrid vehicles – from China to Mexico sank in the North Pacific Ocean in international waters off Alaska’s Aleutian Islands chain. As had happened with the Felicity Ace, the Morning Midas was victimized by an electric vehicle fire that left the vessel some 5,000 meters below the surface.

The pro-EV bus website evfiresafe.com, as of January 2024, had identified at least 27 e-bus high-voltage battery fires since 2010 while noting that fires can break out in any vehicle. As these two nautical tragedies (thankfully, no one died) indicate, the difference is that electric vehicle fires are much more difficult to extinguish.

Jose Del Solar, assistant vice president at the professional services firm WSP, says that “electric vehicle (EV) fires experience extremely high temperatures and explosive hazards within the battery cells. Gases in the batteries, such as hydrogen fluoride, can explode, and the resulting toxic fumes and smoke can cause breathing irritation.” He added that there is a “60 to 80 percent higher concentration of hydrogen fluoride in an EV vehicle fire than what is present in an internal combustion engine fire.”

WSP further noted that fire codes created for diesel-fueled vehicles are inadequate to address battery-electric bus fires (or any electric vehicle fire). There are significant costs for upgrading fire protection wherever these vehicles are stored in both equipment and personnel training.

These statements suggest that cities and other purchasers of battery-electric fleets (as well as individuals who purchase an EV) should spend the money on fire protection and training before they commit to high-dollar purchases of these “zero-emission” vehicles that emit huge quantities of toxic emissions when they burn for hours.

The town of Wilbraham, Massachusetts, found this out the hard way back in January when four brand-new battery electric buses operated by the Lower Pioneer Valley Educational Collaborative went up in smoke while charging. These buses, paid for with multiple taxpayer-funded grants, were so new they had not carried a single student to school.

Fortunately, this community’s fire department had the training to contain and control (but not fully extinguish) the bus fires within three hours. But the fires still released harmful pollutants into the air and left behind a huge pile of refuse that was costly, and difficult, to clean up. Moreover, two school districts that had counted on these buses had to scrape and scrounge to find other ways to transport children to and from school.

As journalist John Goreham mused, the battery-electric vehicle advocacy community frequently points out that battery-powered vehicles are less likely to catch fire than conventionally powered vehicles. However, this does not make it any less tragic when such a huge amount of taxpayer money is converted to air pollution in an EV school bus fire. This small community had forked over about $375,000 (plus $20,000 for a charger) for each bus, or about $1.6 million.

Just last month, over 150 firefighters spent hours battling a massive fire at the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) facility that investigators later found was caused by a faulty battery on a Proterra battery-electric bus.

Natalie Neysa Alund June 5, 2025

More than 150 firefighters in Eastern Pennsylvania battled a massive blaze at a major Philadelphia transportation depot yard after dozens of buses went up in flames at the yard in the early hours of June 5.

The fire broke out sometime around 6 a.m. ET at Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority’s (SEPTA) facility in the 2400 block of Roberts Avenue near Pulaski Avenue, the Philadelphia Fire Department reported.

The facility is in the city’s Nicetown-Tioga neighborhood, about seven miles north of downtown.

Shortly before 6:30 a.m. ET, firefighters responded to the depot for a report of multiple buses on fire, SEPTA General Manager Scott Sauer told CBS News.

At the scene, SEPTA worked to pull out unaffected buses to facilitate better access for firefighters, PFD said.

Initially reported as a two-alarm fire at 6:30 a.m., the number of vehicles on fire, coupled with large plumes of black smoke, quickly escalated the situation to a three-alarm fire. Firefighters confirmed that they had the scene under control by 8:10 a.m.

What caused the Philadelphia bus fire?

The cause and origin of the fire are under investigation by the Fire Marshal’s Office.

The fire destroyed approximately 40 buses, including 15 decommissioned electric buses, which Sauer suggested could explain how the fire started. A similar electric bus caught fire in 2022 at a separate SEPTA depot, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

The buses that caught fire were “getting ready to go to the scrap heap,” said Andrew Busch, SEPTA’s director of media relations.

What is SEPTA?

SEPTA is a public transportation authority servicing five counties in and around Philadelphia.

It was created by the state’s legislature in 1963 and is one of two transit authorities in the United States that operates all five major types of terrestrial transit vehicles: regional rail, buses, trolleys, subways, and a high-speed line.

According to its website, the authority connects to transit systems in New Jersey and Delaware.

Another EV Bus Goes Up In Flames In London

Electric double-decker buses in London will remain in service despite growing safety concerns after one burst into flames in Wimbledon during the school-run.

From NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT

By Paul Homewood

Another EV bus goes up in flames:

Electric double-decker buses in London will remain in service despite growing safety concerns after one burst into flames in Wimbledon during the school-run.

A huge blast ripped off the back of an Optare Metrodecker 1050 bus travelling from Mitcham to Raynes Park in South West London at 7.20am.

It came nearly two years after all Metrodeckers were temporarily taken out of service for safety checks in May 2022 when two were involved in a fire at Potters Bar bus garage in Hertfordshire – before being returned to service days later.

More than 80 Metrodecker buses operate on eight London routes around the capital – the others being the numbers 23, 28, 134, 295, 317, 626 and N28.

Now, the City Hall Conservatives have called on Mayor Sadiq Khan to withdraw all the buses until the cause of the Wimbledon blaze is known.

But Transport for London (TfL), which has about 1,000 electric buses across its network, said it will not withdraw any Metrodeckers and has insisted they are safe.

A TfL spokeswoman told MailOnline: ‘London’s bus network remains safe to use and other buses in the fleet remain in service. TfL and bus operators will not hesitate to take action if required to ensure the network remains safe.’

While firefighters continue to investigate the cause, fire expert Neil Pederson said it was most likely due to an electrical fault and not linked to lithium batteries.

Meanwhile, a second London bus burst into flames this morning, completely destroying it less than 24 hours after the Wimbledon incident.

The hybrid vehicle caught fire in North Woolwich, East London, just before 7am today – with onlookers shouting ‘what the f***’ as they were urged to ‘move back, get back’. The bus involved in today’s blaze was an Alexander Dennis Enviro400 hybrid that runs on diesel and electricity, with about 900 in use across 78 routes in London.

It comes as Mr Khan faced calls to launch a ‘full and urgent investigation’ into the Wimbledon double decker explosion as he ploughs ahead with his stated ambition to make the capital’s entire bus fleet ‘zero-emission’ by 2034.

But yesterday’s incident was just the latest example of safety faults with electric vehicles – which were the fastest growing cause of fires in the capital last year, according to the London Fire Brigade. In 2023 there were 150 e-bike fires in London, along with 28 e-scooter fires, which was 53 per cent more than in 2022.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12955781/Wimbledon-bus-fire-TfL-electric-buses-service.html