The Federal Transit Administration on Tuesday announced $1.66 billion in grants to transit agencies, territories and states for buses and bus facilities across the U.S. The agency said in a press release that the grants would enable the purchase of 1,800 new buses, including 1,100 zero-emission buses.
The competitive grants were awarded through the FTA’s Buses and Bus Facilities and Low- and No-Emission Vehicle programs, which were funded by the bipartisan infrastructure law enacted last year.
Speaking on a call with reporters yesterday, FTA Administrator Nuria Fernandez said the grants would nearly double the number of electric buses currently in use across the country, which she pegged at 1,300.
Large, small, mid-sized and tribal communities were among the 150 grant recipients awarded in this round. They include:
- Columbus, Ohio: $26.7 million to the Central Ohio Transit Authority to replace diesel buses with up to 28 battery-electric buses and chargers.
- Houston: $21.6 million to buy 20 battery-electric buses and charging infrastructure.
- Missoula, Montana: $10.9 million to buy 10 battery-electric buses and charging equipment. The agency committed to transition its entire fleet of vehicles to zero-emission technology by 2035 and, through this grant, it will reach 90% of that goal.
- New York: $116 million to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to buy up to 230 battery-electric buses to replace older diesel buses and provide related workforce training and development.
- Phoenix: $16.4 million to buy up to 18 hydrogen fuel cell and battery-electric buses.
- Washington, D.C.: $9.5 million to buy up to 17 battery-electric buses to replace diesel vehicles and increase the size of the DC Circulator fleet.
In total, the FTA received 530 eligible project proposals totaling approximately $7.72 billion in requests. Funding for fiscal year 2022 amounted to $1.17 billion under the Low- and No-Emission Vehicles Program and $550 million under the Bus and Bus Facilities Program.
The bipartisan infrastructure law provides $5.5 billion over five years for the low-no program and nearly $2 billion over five years for the bus program.
Fernandez said the grants “will bring the momentum that is needed so that we can move forward with the transition of the American bus fleet of nearly 60,000 buses into a clean-emitting bus [fleet].”
