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PVTA pilots electric paratransit plan after Holyoke outreach; residents and disability advocates urge accessibility and clear outreach
Summary
PVTA held public outreach in Holyoke about a grant-funded pilot to buy battery-electric paratransit vans. Staff warned vehicle availability and infrastructure costs limit purchases; attendees supported a pilot while raising concerns about wheelchair configurations, winter range, maintenance, and outreach to seniors.
Paul Burns, PVTA director of transit operations, outlined a grant-funded pilot to test battery-electric paratransit vans and asked residents in Holyoke for feedback on designs, accessibility and operations.
Burns said PVTA received funding from MassCEC to pilot electric paratransit vans but that the market is constrained: "There are only two readily available paratransit vehicles that are ready and electrically equipped," he said, and added that Buy America rules and rising electrical-infrastructure costs have increased the per-vehicle program cost. Burns described two candidate models under consideration: a Ford Transit EV (roughly $120,000 apiece) and a low-floor ADA Pro Max on a Ram ProMaster platform (nearer $350,000'$400,000), noting trade-offs between price and ease of boarding.
Why it matters: PVTA serves 24 communities across about 600 square miles and operates a large paratransit fleet that provides critical trips for people with disabilities and older residents. Burns said paratransit ridership has not fully recovered from the…
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