OXNARD, VENTURA : Electric Bus Used in Clean Air Trial

An electric bus with a rechargeable battery pack is hitting the streets of Oxnard and Ventura this week as part of an experiment in clean public transportation.

Southern California Edison Co. lent the white bus with large, opening windows to the South Coast Area Transit as part of an effort to reduce air pollution in Ventura County and other parts of Southern California.

The electric bus produces 97% less pollution than diesel-run buses, said Tony Wilson, an Edison spokesman.

“It is a research bus that we are providing so they can take a look and see if they will be able to use it in their transportation system,” Wilson said.

The electric bus route will be alternated between Oxnard’s St. John’s Hospital route and the Ventura Harbor route through June 30.

The bus takes the place of the regular buses on the route and costs no more to board than the regular $1 fee for most riders.

Oxnard and Ventura are the first two cities to use the bus. Until now, the trolley was used at Edison’s nuclear power plant in San Onofre in San Diego County. After Ventura County, the bus heads south to Santa Monica.

“We are trying to show people that electric technology is here and available right now,” Wilson said. “We hope to raise the visibility of this type of technology.”

Keith Duval, a manager with the Ventura County Air Pollution Control District, said using electric buses would help reduce air pollution in the county.

“An electric bus is very much cleaner than the current buses used,” he said.

SCAT has also applied for a federal grant to buy 26 compressed-natural gas buses, which the district hopes will be operating by August, 1995, said Laurie Anderson, a spokeswoman for SCAT.