PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 17, 2023
The maker of the battery-powered buses used by two southern Maine transportation agencies filed for bankruptcy last week, paving an uncertain path for the continued electrification of the state’s bus fleet. In 2018, Greater Portland Metro and Biddeford Saco Old Orchard Beach Transit teamed up to secure nearly $6 million in federal aid and state funding to purchase four electric-powered buses from Proterra, the country’s largest manufacturer of electric buses. The buses are supposed to be delivered next spring and Chad Heid, Biddeford transit’s executive director, said Thursday that despite the bankruptcy filing, he’s hopeful the buses will arrive on schedule.