AVTA set to resume commuter services
LANCASTER — Antelope Valley Transit Authority announced the planned resumption of commuter services, scheduled to begin ramping up today.
The service travels to downtown Los Angeles, Century City, San Fernando Valley and the TRANSporter to Newhall.
This includes routes 785, 786, 787, and 790.
The temporary suspension of commuter service did not involve or affect AVTA’s fleet of BYD zero-emission battery electric buses or the agency’s local service, the agency said.
Although sudden and unexpected, the temporary suspension will be shorter than first reported. AVTA staff located diesel commuter buses available for lease, acquired these replacement vehicles and have quickly and carefully initiated the safety checks and onboarding procedures needed to make the buses ready for service.
“We are pleased to notify our riders of the replacement commuter service starting this Thursday,” AVTA Board Chairman Marvin Crist said. “AVTA staff has managed this unexpected suspension very well, locating and ramping up additional vehicles in an amazing timeframe. I want to thank the AVTA executive and maintenance staff for all their hard work and long hours over this past week.”
AVTA will begin ramping up the restoration of all commuter routes using the leased commuter coaches, with three buses on Route 785, two on Route 786, three on Route 787 and one on Route 790. AVTA recommends carefully planning commutes using the following modified commuter schedule. AVTA’s customer service department is available
to support commuters to help them get to where they need to be.
The operational status on AVTA’s MCI electric commuter coaches remains the same. MCI is working to identify the cause of the battery charging abnormalities.
“As stated last week, AVTA was the first transit agency in the US to place these electric commuter coaches into service,” Crist said. “When you are the first to travel any road, you run into rough spots. Until AVTA can be certain the electric commuter fleet is reliable and safe to operate, we will be forced to use replacement vehicles for our commuter service.”
The suspension was due to battery issues encountered by the agency related to the charging of AVTA’s fleet of MCI D45 CRTe LE CHARGE battery-electric commuter coaches. Only the
MCI electric commuter coaches, and therefore the commuter routes, are impacted by this suspension.
During the disruption, AVTA urges commuters to check AVTA’s website and social media and sign up for AVTA Rider Alerts at www. avta.com. Commuters may also call the AVTA customer service department at 661945-9445 for current information on solutions available and resumption of service.