A vehicle fire at a bus yard on Zanker Rd highlights the potential dangers and uncertainties for public transit agencies transitioning to electric buses. An out-of-service electric VTA bus caught fire, leading to no injuries and no structure damage, according to the San Jose Fire Department's Twitter announcement yesterday. The incident coincided with the hospitalization of two Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) mechanics who suffered from smoke inhalation while attempting to extinguish the fire, KTVU reported.
#SJFD crews extinguished a vehicle fire at a bus yard on Zanker Rd. The electric VTA bus was out of service and vacant. No injuries and no structure damage. pic.twitter.com/TNmy2D6pmi
— San José Fire Dept. (@SJFD) September 1, 2023
VTA employees were praised for their heroic efforts as they pushed the massive bus out of the maintenance bay, preventing further damage to the property. The affected bus was one of ten Proterra battery-electric buses owned by VTA, which have all been taken out of service pending an investigation. Though Proterra, the Burlingame-based bus manufacturer, claims there is no indication that the bus's battery was involved in the fire, electric vehicle expert Sam Abuelsamid from Guidehouse Insights pointed out previous quality issues with Proterra buses, such as cracked frames.
The timing of the fire comes at a difficult moment for Proterra, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in August, yet continues to operate as a significant supplier of electric buses to transit systems throughout the country. VTA purchased Proterra's fleet of buses at one million dollars each to align with California's commitment to achieve a 100% transition to zero-emission buses by 2040.
Proterra assures its cooperation with VTA's investigation and offers field support during the process.
