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LADOT Acting Chief Of Transit Programs Kari Derderian
By Harrell Kerkhoff, Busline Magazine Editor
ne hundred percent electrification of its bus fleet and having the infrastructure in place to support that electrification — by the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles — is the plan at the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT). “LADOT started purchasing alternative-fuel vehicles in 1998, first powered by propane and then CNG. We are now focused on being 100 percent electric, with a fleet of 500-plus buses, by 2028 — and doing our best to make sure that happens,” LADOT Acting Chief Of Transit Programs Kari Derderian said. It was announced in 2020 that LADOT placed an order with BYD for 130 electric buses, continuing an already established relationship between the two entities.
“We currently have four BYD electric buses in our fleet, and they have performed very well over the past three years. We received those vehicles through a grant program, helping us gain valuable experience with electric buses at LADOT,” Derderian said. Additional procurement work paved the way for the 130-bus order, which is part of an expected overall increase of 155 electric buses at LADOT in the near future. “Our relationship with BYD has been great,” Derderian
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said. “It helps that they have a facility close by, in Lancaster, CA, which our maintenance support staff can easily visit. That provides us with a hands-on approach, as it relates to maintaining our electric buses.” Of course, in order to run a large fleet of electric buses, a transit provider must also have the infrastructure in place to support such a move. That focus has been ongoing at LADOT, and involves four existing locations within the city limits of Los Angeles, with plans for a fifth.