Ahead of schedule, Penn Transit Services has procured and launched its first-ever fleet of passenger vans that run entirely on electric-charged batteries. This will save a total of 52 metric tons of carbon emissions every year, which, according to the U.S. Department of Energy, equates to growing 893 tree saplings for 10 years.

Michael Bernhardt is director of Penn Transit Services, which provides free transportation within specific service boundaries to all PennCard holders. He says that a creative solution involving retrofitting Ford e-Transit cargo vans—which are not yet widely available as passenger vans—allowed them to find a quick and cost-effective way to introduce four new electric vehicles to the Penn Transit fleet. Passenger vehicles can be expensive and aren’t always big enough for use in the fleet, Bernhardt says, so purchasing an electric cargo van and outfitting it with seats, windows, and batteries proved to be an innovative alternative. This customization also allowed them to keep the 10-year warranty intact.

Read the full article at Penn Today