Keller ready to dump ART bus contract

Mayor Tim Keller on Friday signaled that the city might junk its $23 million contract with a Chinese company to provide 20 electric buses for the disastrous Albuquerque Rapid Transit project.

In a news release, Keller said that the Chinese company that is building the 60-foot, battery powered electric buses for ART, Build Your Dreams (BYD), has repeatedly missed its deadline to deliver the buses to the city.

The 20 buses were supposed to have been delivered by Oct. 4, 2017, but as of Feb. 22, the city had received only 16 buses from BYD. And many of the buses that the Chinese company has delivered to the city have numerous structural problems, Keller said.

"“BYD continues to provide moving targets and has not addressed significant quality concerns,” Keller said in a news release. “We will formally put the company on notice about the lack of compliance and the potential for compensatory damages.”

In the news release, the city's Chief Operating Officer, Lawrence Rael said the city is looking for buses from other companies.

“We are left with little choice but to start exploring other options regarding the bus provider and the size and type of buses that will work best for Albuquerque riders on the new system,” Rael said.

To read just what a disaster the ART project has become, please read the stories posted below.

Here's Keller's new release on the ART bus situation:

Mayor Keller Comments on BYD Missing Deadline to Provide A.R.T. Buses

ALBUQUERQUE, NM – Mayor Tim Keller is responding to contractor Build Your Dreams (BYD) missing the deadline it set to provide the City of Albuquerque the buses for the A.R.T. system. The original deadline for the company to send 20 60-foot electric buses to Albuquerque was October 4, 2017. The company extended the deadline to February 22, 2018. The City had received 16 buses by the close of business yesterday. Some of the buses delivered have problems such as cracking rear exterior panels and leaking axle hubs. BYD additionally failed to meet its own bus charging system certification deadline of February 15, 2018.

“BYD continues to provide moving targets and has not addressed significant quality concerns,” stated Mayor Keller. “We will formally put the company on notice about the lack of compliance and the potential for compensatory damages.”

The City of Albuquerque’s Chief Operating Officer Lawrence Rael added, “We are left with little choice but to start exploring other options regarding the bus provider and the size and type of buses that will work best for Albuquerque riders on the new system.”