AMPLY Power is managing the charging of electric buses for SolTrans, a public transportation provider for south Solano County, California. SolTrans operates both electric and CNG buses, and AMPLY’s hardware-agnostic, Charging-as-a-Service software solution will optimize energy use and fuel costs across vehicle types.

At SolTran’s depot, where the agency has four charging stations, AMPLY installed a cloud-based system that monitors charging status and power levels in real time, minimizing utility demand charges by optimizing not only EV charging but other energy use as well. For example, when the CNG compressors turn on, AMPLY’s system immediately reduces or suspends EV charging to ensure that increased power usage will not trigger electricity demand charges.

Currently, the transit agency’s fleet includes four battery-electric buses, one CNG bus, and 21 diesel hybrid buses, as well as two CNG paratransit vehicles, and 16 CNG vehicles in its SolanoExpress (intercity bus service) fleet.

“Today, almost 100,000 of our trips on local bus routes are operating with zero emissions,” said Elizabeth Patterson, Board Chairperson at SolTrans. “This electric growth for SolTrans meant that we had to build a process of managing these fleets while keeping costs down, and that’s where the AMPLY team came in. By its data-driven approach to operationalizing our electric fleet, AMPLY Power provides us the confidence to continue our growth into full electric deployment.”

“The AMPLY Power team helped us understand how to collectively control our energy costs while still ensuring all of our electric and CNG buses are fueled and ready to serve,” said Patricia Carr, General Services Manager at SolTrans. “Here in Vallejo, we’ve heard from many residents over their concerns about air pollution. AMPLY’s technology is helping us transition to zero-emission by 2032.”

Source: AMPLY Power