The Delaware Transit Corporation received a fourth Federal Transit Administration grant of $3,539,640 to purchase additional electric buses.
The agency has now received more than $9.1 million through these grants to support the purchase of electric buses.
DART is currently running 16 electric buses statewide, with four additional buses going into service this fall. The six additional buses to be purchased with the latest grant will bring the fleet total to 26 electric buses, or about 10% of all fixed-route diesel buses.
Electric buses have the potential to last longer, run cleaner, are easier to maintain and produce zero emissions and offer the same capacity for riders compared to their diesel counterparts.
Transit systems are still dealing with issues that include the range of batteries and the need for more charging sites. One bus can travel up to 250 miles on a single charge.
Electric buses produce 90 percent fewer particulates (hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide emissions and 60 percent fewer oxides of nitrogen.
Gov. John Carney stated, “Just last week, I signed Senate Bill 21, amending the Delaware Energy Act to encourage the adoption of electric vehicles by creating a more accessible charging station infrastructure in the First State. I am proud that our state agencies are also adopting the use of electric vehicles, especially for public transportation that results in less air pollution from buses that operate continuously throughout the day.”
“The need for alternative modes of transportation grows daily as does the need for cleaner transportation. We are grateful for this grant and the opportunity continues to explore ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while continuing to provide the highest quality transportation services to the community,” said Delaware Secretary of Transportation Nicole Majeski.
The first FTA grant of $2,029,300 for the purchase of six electric buses are currently operating in and around Dover. The second grant of $1,000,000 is for the purchase of an additional ten electric buses operating in Wilmington and Rehoboth Beach. DTC received a third grant of $2,600,000 for four electric buses to supplement the resort season in late summer of 2021.
The Delaware Transit Corporation, a subsidiary of the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT), operates DART First State. For more information, visit DartFirstState.com
See earlier story below:
DART not seeing the problems that idled SEPTA’s electric buses
