CARTA has long operated the free electric shuttle and now it has ordered three all-electric, 35-passenger buses for the regular transit route.
Steve Jett, CARTA chairman, said, "It's great for CARTA to continue being on the leading edge of clean electric vehicles."
CARTA has been operating several hybrid electric/diesel buses on the transit routes.
The new buses will recharge by driving over a charging station and "flipping a switch." A charge takes 2-3 minutes.
Their range is said to be 120 miles between charges.
CARTA drivers will experiment on how the all-electric vehicles will handle Chattanooga's hilly terrain, it was stated.
Officials said initially the inductive charging process involved a deep basin, but now they are just a couple of feet down.
Lisa Maragnano, executive director, said CARTA has secured money for an additional three all-electric buses to arrive later.
Also, officials said CARTA received "zero deficiencies" in a recent government audit of the operation.
Mr. Jett said the average for other agencies audited was almost eight deficiencies.
"We received a very good grade," he said.
During April CARTA made $98,784 on its parking program. Meter income was up $15,000.
For April, total ridership was down. It was 269,895 compared to 274,545 the previous April.
For the year to date, ridership on the North Shore Shuttle and the Mocs Express are both up.