Zero-pollution buses get moving with Silicon Valley backing

New York

BUSES that neither belch pollution nor draw on coal power are starting to appear on city streets with the support of Silicon Valley and a company backed by Warren Buffett.

Over the next six months, Seattle is rolling out two all-electric buses made by Kleiner Perkins-backed Proterra. The city gets 95 per cent of its electricity from renewables, mostly hydroelectric dams that don't use fossil fuels. So charging the fleet won't increase emissions.

The trials, replicated in Dallas, San Antonio and Worcester, Massachusetts, show that battery-powered buses can move people more quietly and cheaply than traditional diesel models. While cities for years have embedded hydrogen and natural-gas vehicles in their fleet, the electric bus fuelled by renewables holds the promise of delivering transport for…