Stanford’s free Marguerite shuttle continues to improve its fleet with zero-emission, battery-electric buses and larger-capacity buses.

The Marguerite fleet currently has 13 electric vehicles, and 10 more are on their way. With these additions, battery-electric buses will provide service for more than half of the 1.3 million miles Stanford’s free shuttles travel annually. The 10 new electric vehicles will be smaller—30 feet long—than earlier models, which are 40 feet long. Stanford will reduce its kilowatt-hours per mile by operating the smaller electric vehicles on routes with lower ridership.

To address increasing demand on its East Bay service, Stanford introduced double-decker buses in lieu of adding another diesel bus to the route. The double-decker buses carry more passengers—81 versus 49—for the same cost per mile. They also use the latest diesel particulate filters, making them cleaner to operate than conventional, older diesel buses. Almost all diesel buses in the Marguerite fleet have been retrofitted with these filters.