On Tuesday, the Federal Transit Administration announced it would donate nearly $60 million to three Massachusetts public transit agencies to help fund new fleets of electric and hybrid-electric buses.
The largest grant, $40 million, will fund the purchase of 40 new battery-electric buses that will replace older diesel buses and be installed at the new Quincy Bus Maintenance Facility, which is Currently under construction.
The new Quincy garage — the T’s first in decades — is designed to house a larger fleet of electric buses. It will replace a smaller, 90-year-old garage for diesel buses located across town.
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The Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority will also receive a $14.6 million grant that will allow the agency to replace older buses with 13 new hybrid buses.
Cape Cod RTA Administrator Tom Cahir told StreetsblogMASS that the agency has a “aggressive” plan to electrify its fleetBut he said many of the agency’s routes cover distances that are still too long for buses running solely on batteries to cover without recharging.
The grant will also provide a major boost to the Cape Cod RTA. Capital budgetUnder its current capital budget, the agency had about $29 million available to replace buses over the next five years. The FTA grant will increase available funding by 50 percent.
A third FTA grant will go to the Martha’s Vineyard Transit Authority, which will receive $3.9 million for new electric buses and associated charging equipment.
Grant funds come from the FTA Low emissions and zero emissions program that funds the purchase of buses, the installation of bus garages and station improvements, and supporting equipment such as battery-powered charging stations.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Act of 2021 authorized $5.6 billion for the Low-No Program through 2026, which is more than ten times the amount of funding the program received over the previous five years.
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