Seneca preparing for New All-electric CAT Buses

The City of Seneca is actively preparing for the new all-electric CAT buses to arrive.  Seneca Mayor Dan Alexander said the city is using a $1.8 million grant to pay for the prep-work.  “The Propex property, there will be a 30,000 square foot section in the building that will house our buses and it will have a maintaince shed part in it where we can work on things.  We are being able to do that by the federal livability grant that we received last year.  It was a $1.8 million grant that we got through the federal government through the transit, which funneled down through the state to the city.  All of that is in motion, so we are real excited about that coming together.” Changes are being made to a section of the downtown park where riders board the buses, explains Mayor Alexander.  “The park downtown right now where people get on and off the bus, it is actually going to shift some to the bottom of the park.  There will be some sheds built there along with some restrooms are planned to be built there.  That is where the charging stations are going because it is a lot easier to build everything right there and accommodate our riders right there on Railroad Street.  There will be a cut into the park and there will be a station where the buses charge and also a place for people to sit and wait for the buses.” Mayor Alexander said the all-electric bus supercharging stations are also being installed.  “We have to put a couple of stations on our route where it has the superchargers.  This will allow the buses to ride up under a charger and it charges the buses because the buses will be totally electric and these superchargers will charge a bus in about eight minutes and it allows then to run their route and then come back.” The new all-electric CAT buses are anticipated to arrive in Seneca sometime early this fall.