The cautionary tales just get more common and more mind-blowing...
"You really can't make this stuff up.It sure seems like the government at every level is happy to pour money into electric vehicles. It sure seems like, too much of the time, their efforts are for naught. Asheville, North Carolina is the latest city to learn this lesson when they spent millions on electric city buses that won't run. The city of Asheville, North Carolina, shelled out millions of dollars in 2018 to add five electric buses to its fleet. Now, three of the five sit idle, and city employees are telling the cautionary tale. Asheville's interim transportation director, Jessica Morriss, told local station WLOS-TV that the three out-of-commission buses are down due to a combination of software issues and mechanical problems, and one has had a broken door since July that can't be replaced."We haven’t been able to get new doors," Morriss told the outlet. "There's no third party that makes a door. We'd have to get custom-made doors."Part of the issue is that the company that made the electric buses, Proterra, filed for bankruptcy in August. According to the News & Observer, Proterra's operations are still shut down. The company was recently purchased by Phoenix Motor, but it is unclear when parts and services for Proterra buses will be available."The last couple of years have been particularly difficult," Morriss said. "We don’t see an end in sight."Honestly, they bought buses from a company that went bankrupt, and now they can't get parts?The end in sight could well be having the city buy some Diesel buses. If there's one thing Asheville should have learned from all this — and which American companies and drivers are learning — all-electric vehicles just are not ready for prime time.
