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BEB Familiarization Course Pilots
BEB Familiarization Course Pilots
TWC launched two pilot sessions of its Battery Electric Bus (BEB) Familiarization course with Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro) in February and with Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) in March. Development for this FTA-funded familiarization course started in January 2022 to provide frontline workers and training instructors at public transit agencies with baseline knowledge of BEBs.
The pilot at LA Metro was coordinated by Program Manager of Technical Training, James Hall, for a mix of subject matter experts, technical trainers, and agency maintenance managers from multiple California counties. James noted, “The input we’ve received on our materials is invaluable in supporting our work to roll out this training course to the transit industry. In addition, having guidance from other subject matter experts and maintenance managers who are navigating the challenges of rolling out a BEB fleet will better curate the content with useful information for those transitioning to a battery-electric fleet.”
Senior Bus Equipment Maintenance Instructor Obed Mejia stated, “This course material is excellent and much needed by the public transit agencies as they transition into electric buses. Training materials such as this ITLC course allow for an easier transition into the deployment of these buses.”
WMATA’s Bus Maintenance Instructor Anthony “Tony” Gilmore led instructors in a review of course content, exercises, and assessments. This train-the-trainer session helped build internal capacity so that instructors can be prepared to utilize and deliver the course with additional WMATA-specific instruction and direction as they incorporate BEBs into their fleet. Tony noted that WMATA was glad to be involved in the pilot and the filming, and looks forward to the next stage of revision and implementation. Instructional Designer Brandon Liu and James Hall worked with WMATA on the pilot.
TWC will close out the piloting process with CapMetro in a two-day session in April that will complete feedback collection. The BEB Familiarization course materials will receive final edits before being released for agencies to utilize in preparing their workforce for the transition to battery electric buses. TWC thanks all three agencies for providing pilot opportunities that will help ensure the final course product is of the highest quality for broad agency use.