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MBTA nears completion of Quincy electric bus maintenance facility designed for 120 buses
Summary
MBTA senior project manager Steve Belanger led a site tour of the Quincy Bus Maintenance Facility, a 300,000-square-foot depot nearing enclosure that will store and service up to 120 battery-electric buses, include a ~1 MW solar array, and add a community pathway to Quincy Adams station.
Steve Belanger, senior project manager for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, led a walkthrough of the Quincy Bus Maintenance Facility on Earth Day, describing a 300,000-square-foot building designed to operate, store and maintain up to 120 battery-electric buses and to support electrification of about 20 routes.
"This project is a new 300,000 ft² battery electric bus facility with the capacity to operate, store, and maintain up to 120 buses," Belanger said, noting the new site is replacing an existing facility that is more than 100 years old and cannot accommodate modern buses. He said the project is about 80% complete and the building is approaching enclosure as crews move to system commissioning and interior fit-out.
Belanger outlined key operational features: 23 maintenance bays equipped with vehicle lifts, cable reels and lubrication equipment intended to give maintainers an efficient workspace; a charging strategy managed primarily within a four-hour overnight window with technology that allows faster, more frequent charging if needed; and rooftop solar expected to generate approximately 1 megawatt of power. "This project will be equipped with a full range of battery electric bus equipment," he said, and added that the facility will support electrification of roughly 20 routes that pull out of Quincy.
Belanger framed the project benefits in environmental and service terms: "Battery electric buses will result in cleaner tailpipe emissions, noise reduction, and newer, more reliable service means less vehicles on the road and more people using the MBTA system." He emphasized the new facility replaces the older depot that can only service the oldest diesel buses and cannot accept hybrids due to its age and size.
The project also includes a new shared-use community pathway behind the facility to provide a direct connection from nearby neighborhoods to Quincy Adams station — a pedestrian and bicycle access improvement Belanger said did not exist previously.
The transcript did not specify funding sources, the date for full operational startup, or the timetable for when routes will be placed into electric service. According to Belanger, the remaining work is system commissioning and interior fit-out; no opening date was provided in the walkthrough.
Next steps cited in the presentation are commissioning of building systems and completion of interior fit-out; the transcript records no formal vote, funding announcement, or operational start date.
