Looks like another stock cash cow for democrats crashed, but not before they all got their money out. All taxpayers funded of course.

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT8NTE6Ku/


https://www.washingtonpost.com...ptcy-electric-buses/

Electric buses get billions in federal aid. A top maker just went bankrupt.

It might seem like a great time to be in the battery-powered bus business: Transit agencies across the country are switching to the pricey, zero-emission models, and the Biden administration is pouring billions of dollars into the effort, aiming to get polluting diesel engines off the street.

At the same time, manufacturers have been badly shaken by supply-chain disruptions and inflation. This past week, an industry pioneer praised by President Biden filed for bankruptcy.

In court filings, California-based Proterra said it was struggling with how to make money while delivering the individually designed buses its customers demand.

“While our best-in-class EV and battery technologies have set an industry standard, we have faced various market and macroeconomic head winds, that have impacted our ability to efficiently scale all of our opportunities simultaneously,” chief executive Gareth Joyce said in a news release announcing the bankruptcy.

<snip>
The bipartisan infrastructure law provided $5.5 billion for low- and no-emission buses over five years, with billions more available through other federal grant programs boosted by the law. The Biden administration has touted its success in getting money into the hands of transit agencies, which need the aid to replace aging diesel buses with electric models that cost about $1 million each.
<snip>

Proterra said in the bankruptcy filings that it has delivered 1,000 electric buses, including 199 last year as agencies ramped up to switch to battery power. Federal money has helped buoy the company, which received a $10 million loan under the pandemic-era Paycheck Protection Program, money that was subsequently forgiven. Proterra also expected to receive battery-production tax credits from the Inflation Reduction Act, the administration’s signature environmental legislation.

<snip>
Proterra’s bankruptcy follows a June announcement by Swedish manufacturer Volvo that its bus business, Nova Bus, would leave the U.S. market and close a plant in Plattsburgh, N.Y., by 2025. The company said it made the decision after repeated financial losses.
<snip>

<snip>
Christof Spieler, director of planning at consulting firm Huitt-Zollars, has urged transit agencies to be cautious as they make the transition, pointing to the complexities of building charging infrastructure and designing routes suitable for battery-powered buses.

He said the industry has been through turmoil in the past — with seemingly established players leaving the business — and he doesn’t see Proterra’s bankruptcy as significantly changing the picture.

“I would not look at this and say ‘if you’ve got Proterras on the road or you’re putting out a procurement, you should be worried,’” he said.
<snip>

Slo-Lyndra...

quote:

Christof Spieler, director of planning at consulting firm Huitt-Zollars, has urged transit agencies to be cautious as they make the transition, pointing to the complexities of building charging infrastructure and designing routes suitable for battery-powered buses.

He said the industry has been through turmoil in the past — with seemingly established players leaving the business — and he doesn’t see Proterra’s bankruptcy as significantly changing the picture.

“I would not look at this and say ‘if you’ve got Proterras on the road or you’re putting out a procurement, you should be worried,’” he said.

Easy for him to say the last paragraph. He’s not the one looking for one unobtainable piece necessary to complete a repair. Certainly many of the parts are off the shelf but there are going to be proprietary materials used and threats where the problem lies.

“Uh boss, we got a problem. Three of our busses all need the same part, nothing Is compatible in the aftermarket. In fact, the only source was the bus builder and as you know they went T.U. a year ago.”

quote:

Originally posted by shovelhead:
Easy for him to say the last paragraph. He’s not the one looking for one unobtainable piece necessary to complete a repair. Certainly many of the parts are off the shelf but there are going to be proprietary materials used and threats where the problem lies.

“Uh boss, we got a problem. Three of our busses all need the same part, nothing Is compatible in the aftermarket. In fact, the only source was the bus builder and as you know they went T.U. a year ago.”

Sounds like a business opportunity! Of course, you know who is going to end up paying for those premium-priced bespoke parts from a Govt. supported third party (prob. located in China).

My question is, if the Dems "got their money out" as asserted in the OP (presumably by closing out an investment due to insider foreknowledge of imminent bankruptcy), who bought those shares? I would hope that self-respecting conservative investors would not fall for this scam. Some Dems. lower on the food chain? Doesn't seem like that strategy can succeed in the long term. It isn't just "spending other people's money" that becomes untenable, but stealing other people's money is tougher when they no longer have any.

quote:

Easy for him to say the last paragraph. He’s not the one looking for one unobtainable piece necessary to complete a repair. Certainly many of the parts are off the shelf but there are going to be proprietary materials used and threats where the problem lies.

Hell, transit systems already have that problem now with their existing dinosaur-fed and hybrid bus fleets. The biggest public transit system around here was at one point having to indefinitely pull their articulated buses one by one out of service as replacements for proprietary normal wear and/or broken parts became difficult if not impossible to source from the bus manufacturer.

quote:

Christof Spieler, director of planning at consulting firm Huitt-Zollars, has urged transit agencies to be cautious as they make the transition, pointing to the complexities of building charging infrastructure and designing routes suitable for battery-powered buses.

And there's that phrase again: Charging infrastructure. I dunno about anyone else, but with that being a topic in all the discussions about EVs, it almost sounds to me like it could be a problem. </sarcasm>

The point about having to redesign routes never occurred to me. I assume it has to do with the electric buses' range and that the redesigned routes would be shorter. Having dealt with Portland's public transit system for many years, I can imagine a lot of passengers being really pissed if they have to alter their daily commuting routine, adding a transfer or two and having to start out earlier in the AM and get home later in the afternoon.

quote:

Originally posted by monoblok:

quote:

Easy for him to say the last paragraph. He’s not the one looking for one unobtainable piece necessary to complete a repair. Certainly many of the parts are off the shelf but there are going to be proprietary materials used and threats where the problem lies.

Hell, transit systems already have that problem now with their existing dinosaur-fed and hybrid bus fleets. The biggest public transit system around here was at one point having to indefinitely pull their articulated buses one by one out of service as replacements for proprietary normal wear and/or broken parts became difficult if not impossible to source from the bus manufacturer.

Dealt with enough of the manufacture is out of business excuse/problem in my commercial truck parts years from upfitter going out of business. Always an adventure.

Our local school district (idiots) just put two electric school busses on the road. I hope the kids dress warm this winter and they don't have any ideas of taking them out of town.

Making a bus all electric doesn’t even make sense - they’re too large.

CNG-electric does - cheapest source of BTUs, and an electric drivetrain seems like an excellent idea for an urban bus duty cycle.

(Currently. Some of the structural battery ideas/new ones might make sense, eventually.)